Wow, that is a whole lot of reviews. . .I'm speechless. I posted that
first chapter before I went to work. I came home and already had 24
reviews, that was a mere 4.5 hour period! I love you all! LOL, I was
expecting 15 reviews at the most for that chapter and you guys did more
than double that! I'm impressed. Now, I would do review reviews, but I
just don't have the time right now. But keep reviewing and I'm sure
eventually I'll get them out for you guys! I hope you like this chapter as
well!
~~~~~~~~~
Sirius woke the next morning again to the audacious cries of the baby in the next room. He groaned and got out of bed, rushing to Harry's side. Figuring it was the same problem as the previous day, Sirius changed Harry's diaper. Yet it didn't stop the crying. He tried feeding him, that didn't work. He didn't know what was wrong.
"What's wrong little guy, huh?" he crooned in a childlike voice. "I bet mummy and daddy would know."
At this Harry stopped crying and looked expectantly into Sirius's face. Sirius could feel his heart shatter into little pieces. Harry missed his parents. The first day away from them had been exciting, now he just wanted them back, more than anything.
"You miss mummy and daddy, don't you Harry?"
Sirius again saw the tears welling in the baby's eyes and flinched when he started screaming. He picked Harry up and rocked him in his arms. He whispered what he thought would be soothing things to Harry, but nothing worked. He wanted his mother and father and would not rest until he had found them.
"I'm sorry Harry," he said his voice cracking as he spoke. "I'm sorry. They're gone. They'll never be back. You're stuck with me now. I'm sorry. Please stop crying."
Harry seemed to understand what Sirius was saying, but he didn't stop crying. He cried and he cried and Sirius willed himself not to cry as well. He almost gave up until there was a knock on the door.
Sirius took a deep breath and went to open it, the crying child still in his arms. What he saw surprised him. A girl about fifteen stood there testily and glared at him. She was wearing a pair of flannel pants and a Boston Red Sox t-shirt. What struck Sirius about her though was her hair. It was the exact same color as Lily's had been. Yet, the moment she opened her mouth Sirius found that she was as unlike Lily as was humanly possible.
"Would you mind making your kid shut up?" she said with a strong Boston accent.
"Excuse me?" Sirius said as dignified as he could.
"Your kid, it's eight AM! I was trying to sleep next door and he woke me up with his cryin'! Can't you get him to be quiet?!"
"No I can't! Do you think I like it?!"
"Hey, don't get mad at me here. You're the one with the annoying kid."
"I've been trying to get him to stop crying for the last hour. . .It's hopeless," Sirius said, sounding quite defeated. The girl looked a little sorry, but was still planning on complaining.
"Well is he always like this? You know, it's what your first day here? You're already on my bad side, and trust me you don't want to get on the other people on this floor's bad side. We have some really mean people. Make him be quiet!"
"I already told you! I can't. I tried changing him, feeding him, I even sort of sang to him. . .nothing will work. He wants his parents."
"You're not this kid's father?"
"No, I'm his godfather."
"Well where the Hell are his parents maybe they can shut him up!"
"They're dead. . .they died three days ago."
"Oh. . ." the girl finally shut up.
"He doesn't understand why they're not here," Sirius said quietly. Harry shrieked on through the awkward silence between the two.
"Let me try," she finally said. "What's his name?"
"Harry, careful with him," Sirius said cautiously, handing over the hysterical baby.
"SHUT UP OVER THERE!" someone down the hall yelled. Sirius shut the door.
"Told ya," the girl said with a smirk. Sirius smiled sheepishly.
Harry looked up into the face that belonged to the unfamiliar arms that were holding him. He immediately stopped crying.
"Wow," she muttered. "I thought I could do it but not that easily."
"It's your hair."
"What?!"
"Your hair is the exact same color as his mothers. . .he sees her in you."
"I look like his ma?"
"No, not at all, just your hair. It's enough for him."
"Well that's just great, but I can't exactly stay here all day. I'm tired. That's what people are when they're woken this early in the morning by screaming babies."
"Wait, please. . .I need a favor."
"You want me to do you a favor? Do you realize that I don't like you, and I don't like this kid. You two woke me up, now I'm cranky. It's Saturday, you know. So what the hell would I do you a favor for?"
Sirius looked at her helplessly and spoke rapidly and frantically, "Because you could be a really nice person, and I'm sure that you'll find that Harry and I are really nice people too. . .when he's not crying that is. Please help me."
"You know what, I don't speak British! I speak English! I don't have a freakin' clue what you just said to me."
"Can you please just be a nice, forgiving person and do me this favor?" Sirius said as slowly and clearly as he could. "I'll pay you."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Watch Harry for a couple of hours this afternoon so I can go look for a job. I wouldn't ask a complete stranger who doesn't like me unless it was an emergency."
"Well if you don't get a job then you can't afford this apartment which means I no longer have to be woken at the crack of dawn by this cryin' baby. . .So why would I want to help you get a job?"
Sirius looked dumbfounded at the girl. He had no idea that a girl so young could be so mean. He was speechless. Then she started laughing at him.
"I'm kidding, okay. I'll do it. When do you need me here?"
"You mean it? You'll do it?! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Hey, I don't hold grudges. I'll get over being woken early as long as you allow me to leave now and go back to bed. Now when do you need me to watch the kid?"
"Around 2:00."
"K, I'll be back. What's your name by the way?"
"Sirius."
"Seriously?"
Sirius smirked and nodded his head. "Sirius Black. And this is Harry Potter. And you are?"
"Emily Dalton. See you later. And can you try to keep him quiet for the next few hours?"
"I can try. Thanks again, you won't regret it."
"Yeah, yeah," she said and walked out the door, slamming it behind her.
"Look Harry, we made a friend," Sirius muttered as he brought Harry to the couch and bounced him on his lap for a while, trying to keep him happy. Harry just cooed in his lap, muttering baby babble. The only intelligible words that came out of his mouth were mummy and daddy. Sirius remembered watching them teach those to him.
"Can you say Sirius, Harry?" Sirius asked, seeing if he could do the same.
Harry just sang little nothings.
"Si-ri-us."
"Seewees," Harry mumbled. Sirius laughed and kissed Harry atop the head.
"Very good, Harry, very good." Sirius then brought Harry back to his crib and laid him down for a nap. He then took one himself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back in England Peter Pettigrew was on the run. He found that he had nowhere to run to and took refuge as a rat in the woods of England. He couldn't return to the flat because Remus would surely be there still, supporting Sirius. And he couldn't return to the deatheaters because they had decided that he had planned for Voldemort to fall that night at the Potters.
No, it was best for him to hide. It may seem suspicious that he had disappeared, but it was his only hope. Thus, Peter Pettigrew vowed to stay a rat for the rest of his life.
Currently he was sitting on a rock in the middle of the forest when he heard voices. He peered down the forest path and saw two young boys walking together. One looked about ten the other about four. They each had the brightest red hair Peter had ever seen.
"Hey Charlie, look!" The younger boy said and pointed directly at Peter. He had a slight lisp and was missing a tooth from the front of his mouth.
"Careful Perce, he could have a disease," Charlie said.
"I think he looks fine," the younger one said, stepping closer to the rat and pounced on it as it tried to scurry away.
"Think mum will let me keep him?"
"Doubt it, what with the new baby on the way and all."
"I can't believe she's having another one. I didn't even want Ron, not to mention Fred and George, and now we have to deal with this one!"
"I like it, hope it's a girl."
"I don't. That's the last thing we need. Mum will spoil her. . .she never spoils me."
"Yeah, yeah, lets go Percy. Bring the rat."
Little Percy held the rat tightly with two hands as he skipped along next to his older brother. In about ten minutes time they arrived in front of the oddest looking house he had ever seen. He tried to groan, but it came out as a squeak. Percy looked down at him and said cheerfully, "He likes it here already, Charlie see! Don't tell mum, okay? She won't let me keep him, but I really want to!"
"Whatever Perce," Charlie said and hurried inside.
"I think I'll call you Scabbers, and you have to do everything I say, okay?" He made the rat nod his head and then took him inside. He set him on a desk in his room and just left him there. His immediate thought was to leave, but he decided that it would be much better for him to stay there. He wouldn't have to worry about getting food, or becoming food. He'd have shelter from the rain. Putting up with the annoying kids would be difficult, but it would be better than fending for himself in the forest.
Peter curled up on the desk using a rubber eraser as a pillow and drifted into a peaceful sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the rats previous home, Remus Lupin paced back and forth. He was waiting for the arrival of Sirius Black's parents.
They had notified him the moment that they had found out what had happened and wanted to talk to him about it.
When Mrs. Black popped out of the fireplace first, she walked straight towards Remus and pulled him into a tight embrace. "I'm so sorry Remus, I'm so sorry. This must be awful for you. When I get my hands on my son!"
Remus was about to interrupt her when Mr. Black came through the fireplace. "Remus, Remus, I'm so sorry we have to visit on such unfortunate circumstances."
"It's fine, really. And Mrs. Black, this wasn't Sirius's doing."
"But the paper. . ."
"The paper lied. Peter did all of this."
"Huh?!" they both said, looking at him like he had two heads.
"Let me show you something," Remus said walking to the kitchen. He got the letter Sirius had written to him and brought it out for them to see. They read it together. Mrs. Black started crying when she reached the end.
"You see, Sirius is innocent. I believe him. You should too."
"I knew he couldn't have done those terrible things--and to his best friends. But, Peter?! How could it have been Peter. That boy couldn't hurt a fly."
"It really doesn't surprise me at all. Peter was always out for himself."
"Well where is he?!" Mr. Black yelled.
"Who?" Remus asked, unsure of whether it was Sirius or Peter he was referring to.
"Sirius. It was pretty stupid of him to just leave like that. He knows better than to run away from his problems."
"Did you read the letter Mr. Black. The ministry thinks Sirius did this. Hell, Dumbledore thinks he did it. That was the original plan, as you know. The minute they found Sirius they would have thrown him into Azkaban. You know it. And Harry. . .He'd be sent to the muggles where he'd be treated like dirt. This is for the best."
"But, where is he? He must be terrified! My poor boy!" Mrs. Black yelled in hysterics.
"I'm sure he's fine. Sirius can take care of himself Mrs. Black."
"I know. . .But I miss him. Already."
"Me too."
"Well thank you very much for your time Remus. We appreciate you showing us this. But we must be going now."
"Alright. Take care."
"You as well Remus. If you ever need anything come and see us. We love you. And if you hear from Sirius. . ."
"You'll be the first people I see."
"Thank you, Remus."
"Bye," Remus said as he saw them out through the fireplace.
When they were gone Remus sat on his couch and smiled for the first time since the death of Lily and James. It was such a relief to know that he wasn't completely alone, to know that someone else knew what he did.
~~~~~~~~~~
This time Sirius woke up to the sound of knocking. He crawled off the couch where he had fallen asleep and went to answer it.
It was Emily, and she was laughing.
"What?"
"Nice hair."
Sirius looked at his reflection in the window and said coolly, "What you don't like it?" The top part was sticking up in every direction and the bottom part was fluffed up.
Emily just laughed at him. "Come in, make yourself at home. It's not much, which is why I need to get this job. Sit down, I'll be right out." Sirius left for his bedroom and put on some nice clothes and fixed his hair. He then came out again.
"Okay, Harry's asleep right now, I don't know his sleeping habits yet, so I can't tell you when to expect him to wake up. When he does, can you just give him a jar of this stuff," Sirius held up a jar of pureed green beans. "And some of this juice in that little cup."
"I shouldn't be more than two hours. Sorry if you get bored, I've got no source of entertainment yet. . .just play with Harry, he's a fun kid."
"Alright Mr. Black."
Sirius wrinkled his nose. "Don't call me that, call me Sirius."
"But Sirius isn't a name, it's an adjective."
"It is a name, and it's not spelled s-e-r-i-o-u-s, it's spelled s-i-r-i-u- s. It's the name of a star."
"Whatever Si-ri-us," she said with an eye roll.
Sirius just raised his eyebrows. "Thank you again. I'll be back soon."
"Mmmm-hmmm," she mumbled putting her feet up on the couch.
Sirius opened the door and was about to leave when Harry started crying. He shut the door again and picked Harry up out of his crib and rocked him back and forth. Harry stopped crying the moment he was picked up.
"Hey, buddy, look who's here," he said in a soft, kind voice, angling Harry so he could see. He gave a happy smile and made a gurgling sound. "Emily's going to be staying with you for a few hours while I go out. Can you say Emily?"
"Emmy," he babbled.
"Good boy," Sirius said smiling. He kissed Harry on the head. "Bye Harry."
He deposited the baby in Emily's arms and walked to the door. He was about to exit when he heard, "Seewees." He turned and smiled and then finally left.
"So Harry Potter, how are you?" Emily asked Harry. He just looked up at her in awe and grabbed a hand full of her hair.
"Ouch, let go!" she screeched playfully, making Harry giggle. He did as he was told, though and dropped the hair. The two spent the afternoon playing peek-a-boo and crawling around the living room. Harry took an immediate liking to Emily, and the feeling was mutual.
Sirius, however, wasn't having such a great time. When he arrived at the grocery store he was told he'd have to wait fifteen minutes before he was seen. He sat on a bench in front of the checkout lines. Unfortunately, it was a slow day and the guy he had talked to the previous day was working.
"Back again I see? And in better attire!"
Sirius smiled though he was thoroughly annoyed. "Yeah, I did my laundry." Truthfully though he had gotten the clothes at the Salvation Army when he had gotten the couch. He didn't like wearing clothes that once belonged to someone else, but he did what he had to do.
"So what are you doing, applying here?"
Sirius nodded.
"What's your name?"
"Sirius Black," Sirius replied praying he'd believe him, unlike Emily.
"Interesting name. Must be a British thing. My names Justin Witter."
"Nice to meet you," Sirius said quite formally.
"You as well. I hope you get the job, I'll put in a good word for you."
"Thank you."
Sirius was then saved when a customer went through his line, followed by a stream of customers after that.
After almost twenty minutes of waiting the manager came out and called him into his office. He was first asked to fill out an application. It asked for a social security number, and Sirius didn't have one.
"Ah, excuse me? Since I'm a foreigner, I don't have a social security number. I haven't been through all the immigration stuff yet, but I'm going to be. . ."
"That's alright, just leave it empty. Shouldn't allow it, but I will. Hard up for cashiers right now, you see? So we'll just pay you under the table."
"Thanks. I really appreciate it."
"Well, the only problem I see with you is that, well, you're British. Do you know American currency?"
"Not that well, but I'm a fast learner. And they're all well marked, right? Shouldn't be a problem."
"Great, then you're hired. I just need to know when you can start and what time of the day you'd like to work."
"I can start tomorrow if you'd like. I'd prefer to work evenings," Sirius said, thinking ahead on how it would be best to take care of Harry. Emily was still young, she probably went to muggle school. Sirius hoped he could convince her to watch him afternoons.
"And I'd like to have weekends off if you don't mind."
"That's fine, we have plenty of high school kids to work on the weekends. So, take the day off tomorrow, Monday will be your first day. Be here at 3:00 and come see me. I'm going to have Justin train you."
Sirius inwardly groaned, but outwardly smiled. "Thank you. I'll see you Monday then."
He left the office and then went through the store picking up a few more things. He bought juice, milk, cereal, eggs, baby food, extra diapers, and toiletries. He then went to the checkout area and much to his dismay only Justin didn't have a line. So he went there and was annoyed for another five minutes before he could leave. Sirius decided that he was only going to stay at that job until a better one arose.
By that time he had been gone for an hour and a half and already was starting to worry about Harry. Sirius knew for a fact that Harry had never been left alone without Lily or a marauder present. He didn't like the fact that he was no alone with a fifteen year old muggle girl.
Sirius waited for a trolley and hurried home. He opened the door of his apartment to see Emily laying on his couch with Harry on top of her. She was lifting him up and down in the air and he was screeching with delight.
"Hey," he said as he closed the door behind him, smiling.
"Hey, Sirius," she said sitting up and setting Harry in her lap. "Say 'hi Sirius."
"Ay Seewees!" Harry screamed merrily.
"Hey little guy," Sirius said laughing. He walked forward and reached out for him. Emily passed him over.
"Was he good?" He asked after giving him a kiss on the head and rocking him back and forth.
"Well. . ." she said with a fake stern look. "He pulled my hair five times, and tried to bite my finger off. . .but other than that he was wonderful. He's a fun kid."
"That's why I love him," Sirius said.
Emily smiled at him. "Well I have to go home. I have a busy night ahead."
"Okay, thank you so much. I got the job by the way," Sirius said as he fished through his pocket for money. He pulled out a ten and handed it to her.
She looked at the money surprised. "Wow, that's a lot. Most parents only give me two dollars an hour."
"Well it was short notice and I do believe we pissed you off this morning. I really appreciate you doing this."
"Ah, no problem. What else would I have done this afternoon."
"Slept?" Sirius quipped.
She laughed and said, "Probably."
"Ummm. . .do you have a job?" Sirius asked awkwardly.
"Nope," she said.
"Would you like one?"
"Lemme guess, you want me to be Harry's nanny or something?"
"Yeah. I'm going to be working at the store weekday evenings. I need someone to watch him. I'd pay you of course. Maybe not as generously as I did tonight, but as much as I can. Unless you have prior after school engagements that is."
"I don't have anything. . .I think all the school clubs are really corny. I could do it."
"Brilliant! Thank you! You are my new favorite person, you know that."
"Ahhh, I'm everyone's favorite person," she said with a fake smile. Sirius saw through it though and thought he caught a glimpse of sadness in her bright blue eyes.
"So what are you doing tonight?"
"Huh?" she asked confused.
"Well you said you had a busy night ahead, what do you have planned?"
"Oh. . ." she said turning red. "Nothing you'd be interested in."
"Okay then, well I hope you have fun."
"Thanks," she said quietly.
"So Monday, after school, you'll come over here?"
"Of course, I'll be looking forward to it."
"Alright, see you later then."
"Bye," she said and walked out the door.
Sirius then took Harry to the couch and said to him, "That, is a weird girl."
Harry giggled at him and then Sirius tickled him, making him giggle more. Sirius sighed to himself and curled up with Harry on the couch, breathing in his baby fresh scent. It put him at ease and he stopped worrying about the future for a short time. He began playing baby games with Sirius and was having a fairly good time until he looked out the window. His heart caught in his throat. An unfamiliar owl was sitting there staring straight at them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The End! LOL----so who's the owl from? I promise there will be more action to come later on in this story. I just have to get through some of the basics first and the we'll get to the really fun stuff. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review!
~~~~~~~~~
Sirius woke the next morning again to the audacious cries of the baby in the next room. He groaned and got out of bed, rushing to Harry's side. Figuring it was the same problem as the previous day, Sirius changed Harry's diaper. Yet it didn't stop the crying. He tried feeding him, that didn't work. He didn't know what was wrong.
"What's wrong little guy, huh?" he crooned in a childlike voice. "I bet mummy and daddy would know."
At this Harry stopped crying and looked expectantly into Sirius's face. Sirius could feel his heart shatter into little pieces. Harry missed his parents. The first day away from them had been exciting, now he just wanted them back, more than anything.
"You miss mummy and daddy, don't you Harry?"
Sirius again saw the tears welling in the baby's eyes and flinched when he started screaming. He picked Harry up and rocked him in his arms. He whispered what he thought would be soothing things to Harry, but nothing worked. He wanted his mother and father and would not rest until he had found them.
"I'm sorry Harry," he said his voice cracking as he spoke. "I'm sorry. They're gone. They'll never be back. You're stuck with me now. I'm sorry. Please stop crying."
Harry seemed to understand what Sirius was saying, but he didn't stop crying. He cried and he cried and Sirius willed himself not to cry as well. He almost gave up until there was a knock on the door.
Sirius took a deep breath and went to open it, the crying child still in his arms. What he saw surprised him. A girl about fifteen stood there testily and glared at him. She was wearing a pair of flannel pants and a Boston Red Sox t-shirt. What struck Sirius about her though was her hair. It was the exact same color as Lily's had been. Yet, the moment she opened her mouth Sirius found that she was as unlike Lily as was humanly possible.
"Would you mind making your kid shut up?" she said with a strong Boston accent.
"Excuse me?" Sirius said as dignified as he could.
"Your kid, it's eight AM! I was trying to sleep next door and he woke me up with his cryin'! Can't you get him to be quiet?!"
"No I can't! Do you think I like it?!"
"Hey, don't get mad at me here. You're the one with the annoying kid."
"I've been trying to get him to stop crying for the last hour. . .It's hopeless," Sirius said, sounding quite defeated. The girl looked a little sorry, but was still planning on complaining.
"Well is he always like this? You know, it's what your first day here? You're already on my bad side, and trust me you don't want to get on the other people on this floor's bad side. We have some really mean people. Make him be quiet!"
"I already told you! I can't. I tried changing him, feeding him, I even sort of sang to him. . .nothing will work. He wants his parents."
"You're not this kid's father?"
"No, I'm his godfather."
"Well where the Hell are his parents maybe they can shut him up!"
"They're dead. . .they died three days ago."
"Oh. . ." the girl finally shut up.
"He doesn't understand why they're not here," Sirius said quietly. Harry shrieked on through the awkward silence between the two.
"Let me try," she finally said. "What's his name?"
"Harry, careful with him," Sirius said cautiously, handing over the hysterical baby.
"SHUT UP OVER THERE!" someone down the hall yelled. Sirius shut the door.
"Told ya," the girl said with a smirk. Sirius smiled sheepishly.
Harry looked up into the face that belonged to the unfamiliar arms that were holding him. He immediately stopped crying.
"Wow," she muttered. "I thought I could do it but not that easily."
"It's your hair."
"What?!"
"Your hair is the exact same color as his mothers. . .he sees her in you."
"I look like his ma?"
"No, not at all, just your hair. It's enough for him."
"Well that's just great, but I can't exactly stay here all day. I'm tired. That's what people are when they're woken this early in the morning by screaming babies."
"Wait, please. . .I need a favor."
"You want me to do you a favor? Do you realize that I don't like you, and I don't like this kid. You two woke me up, now I'm cranky. It's Saturday, you know. So what the hell would I do you a favor for?"
Sirius looked at her helplessly and spoke rapidly and frantically, "Because you could be a really nice person, and I'm sure that you'll find that Harry and I are really nice people too. . .when he's not crying that is. Please help me."
"You know what, I don't speak British! I speak English! I don't have a freakin' clue what you just said to me."
"Can you please just be a nice, forgiving person and do me this favor?" Sirius said as slowly and clearly as he could. "I'll pay you."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Watch Harry for a couple of hours this afternoon so I can go look for a job. I wouldn't ask a complete stranger who doesn't like me unless it was an emergency."
"Well if you don't get a job then you can't afford this apartment which means I no longer have to be woken at the crack of dawn by this cryin' baby. . .So why would I want to help you get a job?"
Sirius looked dumbfounded at the girl. He had no idea that a girl so young could be so mean. He was speechless. Then she started laughing at him.
"I'm kidding, okay. I'll do it. When do you need me here?"
"You mean it? You'll do it?! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Hey, I don't hold grudges. I'll get over being woken early as long as you allow me to leave now and go back to bed. Now when do you need me to watch the kid?"
"Around 2:00."
"K, I'll be back. What's your name by the way?"
"Sirius."
"Seriously?"
Sirius smirked and nodded his head. "Sirius Black. And this is Harry Potter. And you are?"
"Emily Dalton. See you later. And can you try to keep him quiet for the next few hours?"
"I can try. Thanks again, you won't regret it."
"Yeah, yeah," she said and walked out the door, slamming it behind her.
"Look Harry, we made a friend," Sirius muttered as he brought Harry to the couch and bounced him on his lap for a while, trying to keep him happy. Harry just cooed in his lap, muttering baby babble. The only intelligible words that came out of his mouth were mummy and daddy. Sirius remembered watching them teach those to him.
"Can you say Sirius, Harry?" Sirius asked, seeing if he could do the same.
Harry just sang little nothings.
"Si-ri-us."
"Seewees," Harry mumbled. Sirius laughed and kissed Harry atop the head.
"Very good, Harry, very good." Sirius then brought Harry back to his crib and laid him down for a nap. He then took one himself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back in England Peter Pettigrew was on the run. He found that he had nowhere to run to and took refuge as a rat in the woods of England. He couldn't return to the flat because Remus would surely be there still, supporting Sirius. And he couldn't return to the deatheaters because they had decided that he had planned for Voldemort to fall that night at the Potters.
No, it was best for him to hide. It may seem suspicious that he had disappeared, but it was his only hope. Thus, Peter Pettigrew vowed to stay a rat for the rest of his life.
Currently he was sitting on a rock in the middle of the forest when he heard voices. He peered down the forest path and saw two young boys walking together. One looked about ten the other about four. They each had the brightest red hair Peter had ever seen.
"Hey Charlie, look!" The younger boy said and pointed directly at Peter. He had a slight lisp and was missing a tooth from the front of his mouth.
"Careful Perce, he could have a disease," Charlie said.
"I think he looks fine," the younger one said, stepping closer to the rat and pounced on it as it tried to scurry away.
"Think mum will let me keep him?"
"Doubt it, what with the new baby on the way and all."
"I can't believe she's having another one. I didn't even want Ron, not to mention Fred and George, and now we have to deal with this one!"
"I like it, hope it's a girl."
"I don't. That's the last thing we need. Mum will spoil her. . .she never spoils me."
"Yeah, yeah, lets go Percy. Bring the rat."
Little Percy held the rat tightly with two hands as he skipped along next to his older brother. In about ten minutes time they arrived in front of the oddest looking house he had ever seen. He tried to groan, but it came out as a squeak. Percy looked down at him and said cheerfully, "He likes it here already, Charlie see! Don't tell mum, okay? She won't let me keep him, but I really want to!"
"Whatever Perce," Charlie said and hurried inside.
"I think I'll call you Scabbers, and you have to do everything I say, okay?" He made the rat nod his head and then took him inside. He set him on a desk in his room and just left him there. His immediate thought was to leave, but he decided that it would be much better for him to stay there. He wouldn't have to worry about getting food, or becoming food. He'd have shelter from the rain. Putting up with the annoying kids would be difficult, but it would be better than fending for himself in the forest.
Peter curled up on the desk using a rubber eraser as a pillow and drifted into a peaceful sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the rats previous home, Remus Lupin paced back and forth. He was waiting for the arrival of Sirius Black's parents.
They had notified him the moment that they had found out what had happened and wanted to talk to him about it.
When Mrs. Black popped out of the fireplace first, she walked straight towards Remus and pulled him into a tight embrace. "I'm so sorry Remus, I'm so sorry. This must be awful for you. When I get my hands on my son!"
Remus was about to interrupt her when Mr. Black came through the fireplace. "Remus, Remus, I'm so sorry we have to visit on such unfortunate circumstances."
"It's fine, really. And Mrs. Black, this wasn't Sirius's doing."
"But the paper. . ."
"The paper lied. Peter did all of this."
"Huh?!" they both said, looking at him like he had two heads.
"Let me show you something," Remus said walking to the kitchen. He got the letter Sirius had written to him and brought it out for them to see. They read it together. Mrs. Black started crying when she reached the end.
"You see, Sirius is innocent. I believe him. You should too."
"I knew he couldn't have done those terrible things--and to his best friends. But, Peter?! How could it have been Peter. That boy couldn't hurt a fly."
"It really doesn't surprise me at all. Peter was always out for himself."
"Well where is he?!" Mr. Black yelled.
"Who?" Remus asked, unsure of whether it was Sirius or Peter he was referring to.
"Sirius. It was pretty stupid of him to just leave like that. He knows better than to run away from his problems."
"Did you read the letter Mr. Black. The ministry thinks Sirius did this. Hell, Dumbledore thinks he did it. That was the original plan, as you know. The minute they found Sirius they would have thrown him into Azkaban. You know it. And Harry. . .He'd be sent to the muggles where he'd be treated like dirt. This is for the best."
"But, where is he? He must be terrified! My poor boy!" Mrs. Black yelled in hysterics.
"I'm sure he's fine. Sirius can take care of himself Mrs. Black."
"I know. . .But I miss him. Already."
"Me too."
"Well thank you very much for your time Remus. We appreciate you showing us this. But we must be going now."
"Alright. Take care."
"You as well Remus. If you ever need anything come and see us. We love you. And if you hear from Sirius. . ."
"You'll be the first people I see."
"Thank you, Remus."
"Bye," Remus said as he saw them out through the fireplace.
When they were gone Remus sat on his couch and smiled for the first time since the death of Lily and James. It was such a relief to know that he wasn't completely alone, to know that someone else knew what he did.
~~~~~~~~~~
This time Sirius woke up to the sound of knocking. He crawled off the couch where he had fallen asleep and went to answer it.
It was Emily, and she was laughing.
"What?"
"Nice hair."
Sirius looked at his reflection in the window and said coolly, "What you don't like it?" The top part was sticking up in every direction and the bottom part was fluffed up.
Emily just laughed at him. "Come in, make yourself at home. It's not much, which is why I need to get this job. Sit down, I'll be right out." Sirius left for his bedroom and put on some nice clothes and fixed his hair. He then came out again.
"Okay, Harry's asleep right now, I don't know his sleeping habits yet, so I can't tell you when to expect him to wake up. When he does, can you just give him a jar of this stuff," Sirius held up a jar of pureed green beans. "And some of this juice in that little cup."
"I shouldn't be more than two hours. Sorry if you get bored, I've got no source of entertainment yet. . .just play with Harry, he's a fun kid."
"Alright Mr. Black."
Sirius wrinkled his nose. "Don't call me that, call me Sirius."
"But Sirius isn't a name, it's an adjective."
"It is a name, and it's not spelled s-e-r-i-o-u-s, it's spelled s-i-r-i-u- s. It's the name of a star."
"Whatever Si-ri-us," she said with an eye roll.
Sirius just raised his eyebrows. "Thank you again. I'll be back soon."
"Mmmm-hmmm," she mumbled putting her feet up on the couch.
Sirius opened the door and was about to leave when Harry started crying. He shut the door again and picked Harry up out of his crib and rocked him back and forth. Harry stopped crying the moment he was picked up.
"Hey, buddy, look who's here," he said in a soft, kind voice, angling Harry so he could see. He gave a happy smile and made a gurgling sound. "Emily's going to be staying with you for a few hours while I go out. Can you say Emily?"
"Emmy," he babbled.
"Good boy," Sirius said smiling. He kissed Harry on the head. "Bye Harry."
He deposited the baby in Emily's arms and walked to the door. He was about to exit when he heard, "Seewees." He turned and smiled and then finally left.
"So Harry Potter, how are you?" Emily asked Harry. He just looked up at her in awe and grabbed a hand full of her hair.
"Ouch, let go!" she screeched playfully, making Harry giggle. He did as he was told, though and dropped the hair. The two spent the afternoon playing peek-a-boo and crawling around the living room. Harry took an immediate liking to Emily, and the feeling was mutual.
Sirius, however, wasn't having such a great time. When he arrived at the grocery store he was told he'd have to wait fifteen minutes before he was seen. He sat on a bench in front of the checkout lines. Unfortunately, it was a slow day and the guy he had talked to the previous day was working.
"Back again I see? And in better attire!"
Sirius smiled though he was thoroughly annoyed. "Yeah, I did my laundry." Truthfully though he had gotten the clothes at the Salvation Army when he had gotten the couch. He didn't like wearing clothes that once belonged to someone else, but he did what he had to do.
"So what are you doing, applying here?"
Sirius nodded.
"What's your name?"
"Sirius Black," Sirius replied praying he'd believe him, unlike Emily.
"Interesting name. Must be a British thing. My names Justin Witter."
"Nice to meet you," Sirius said quite formally.
"You as well. I hope you get the job, I'll put in a good word for you."
"Thank you."
Sirius was then saved when a customer went through his line, followed by a stream of customers after that.
After almost twenty minutes of waiting the manager came out and called him into his office. He was first asked to fill out an application. It asked for a social security number, and Sirius didn't have one.
"Ah, excuse me? Since I'm a foreigner, I don't have a social security number. I haven't been through all the immigration stuff yet, but I'm going to be. . ."
"That's alright, just leave it empty. Shouldn't allow it, but I will. Hard up for cashiers right now, you see? So we'll just pay you under the table."
"Thanks. I really appreciate it."
"Well, the only problem I see with you is that, well, you're British. Do you know American currency?"
"Not that well, but I'm a fast learner. And they're all well marked, right? Shouldn't be a problem."
"Great, then you're hired. I just need to know when you can start and what time of the day you'd like to work."
"I can start tomorrow if you'd like. I'd prefer to work evenings," Sirius said, thinking ahead on how it would be best to take care of Harry. Emily was still young, she probably went to muggle school. Sirius hoped he could convince her to watch him afternoons.
"And I'd like to have weekends off if you don't mind."
"That's fine, we have plenty of high school kids to work on the weekends. So, take the day off tomorrow, Monday will be your first day. Be here at 3:00 and come see me. I'm going to have Justin train you."
Sirius inwardly groaned, but outwardly smiled. "Thank you. I'll see you Monday then."
He left the office and then went through the store picking up a few more things. He bought juice, milk, cereal, eggs, baby food, extra diapers, and toiletries. He then went to the checkout area and much to his dismay only Justin didn't have a line. So he went there and was annoyed for another five minutes before he could leave. Sirius decided that he was only going to stay at that job until a better one arose.
By that time he had been gone for an hour and a half and already was starting to worry about Harry. Sirius knew for a fact that Harry had never been left alone without Lily or a marauder present. He didn't like the fact that he was no alone with a fifteen year old muggle girl.
Sirius waited for a trolley and hurried home. He opened the door of his apartment to see Emily laying on his couch with Harry on top of her. She was lifting him up and down in the air and he was screeching with delight.
"Hey," he said as he closed the door behind him, smiling.
"Hey, Sirius," she said sitting up and setting Harry in her lap. "Say 'hi Sirius."
"Ay Seewees!" Harry screamed merrily.
"Hey little guy," Sirius said laughing. He walked forward and reached out for him. Emily passed him over.
"Was he good?" He asked after giving him a kiss on the head and rocking him back and forth.
"Well. . ." she said with a fake stern look. "He pulled my hair five times, and tried to bite my finger off. . .but other than that he was wonderful. He's a fun kid."
"That's why I love him," Sirius said.
Emily smiled at him. "Well I have to go home. I have a busy night ahead."
"Okay, thank you so much. I got the job by the way," Sirius said as he fished through his pocket for money. He pulled out a ten and handed it to her.
She looked at the money surprised. "Wow, that's a lot. Most parents only give me two dollars an hour."
"Well it was short notice and I do believe we pissed you off this morning. I really appreciate you doing this."
"Ah, no problem. What else would I have done this afternoon."
"Slept?" Sirius quipped.
She laughed and said, "Probably."
"Ummm. . .do you have a job?" Sirius asked awkwardly.
"Nope," she said.
"Would you like one?"
"Lemme guess, you want me to be Harry's nanny or something?"
"Yeah. I'm going to be working at the store weekday evenings. I need someone to watch him. I'd pay you of course. Maybe not as generously as I did tonight, but as much as I can. Unless you have prior after school engagements that is."
"I don't have anything. . .I think all the school clubs are really corny. I could do it."
"Brilliant! Thank you! You are my new favorite person, you know that."
"Ahhh, I'm everyone's favorite person," she said with a fake smile. Sirius saw through it though and thought he caught a glimpse of sadness in her bright blue eyes.
"So what are you doing tonight?"
"Huh?" she asked confused.
"Well you said you had a busy night ahead, what do you have planned?"
"Oh. . ." she said turning red. "Nothing you'd be interested in."
"Okay then, well I hope you have fun."
"Thanks," she said quietly.
"So Monday, after school, you'll come over here?"
"Of course, I'll be looking forward to it."
"Alright, see you later then."
"Bye," she said and walked out the door.
Sirius then took Harry to the couch and said to him, "That, is a weird girl."
Harry giggled at him and then Sirius tickled him, making him giggle more. Sirius sighed to himself and curled up with Harry on the couch, breathing in his baby fresh scent. It put him at ease and he stopped worrying about the future for a short time. He began playing baby games with Sirius and was having a fairly good time until he looked out the window. His heart caught in his throat. An unfamiliar owl was sitting there staring straight at them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The End! LOL----so who's the owl from? I promise there will be more action to come later on in this story. I just have to get through some of the basics first and the we'll get to the really fun stuff. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review!
