A.N. Beware! There are time skips in this chapter!

Remus banged loudly on the door to Sirius' house. The windows were dark and not one sound came from inside. Sirius' bike was still parked in the driveway, a bit dusty and dirty.

"Sirius! Open this door!" Remus bellowed.

Suddenly there were two pops beside Remus, and two Aurors appeared.

"Mr. Lupin, we were ordered to come here to make sure you weren't injured. Black could be highly dangerous, and we don't want anyone else to get injured or killed."

Remus nodded and took out his wand, not bothering to knock again.

"Alohamora!" With a click the lock turned and Remus pushed the door open. He muttered something under his breath and the lights turned on. No one seemed to be there.

"Mr. Lupin, we're going to go check all the rooms to make sure he isn't hiding. You stay here and don't move!" They both ran up the stairs and left Remus all alone.

The werewolf looked around the house that he had been to so many times before, usually when Sirius invited him and the Potters and Peter over for dinner. The fireplace was cold, so that meant he didn't leave by Floo Powder, and his broom and bike were still there, proving that he didn't escape using them. Remus looked around the living room, and saw something that caught his eye. A sock. Not a sock that could fit Sirius, but a baby sock. Harry's.

"Mr… er… I think I found something!" Remus yelled, picking up the tiny article of clothing.

The two Aurors came downstairs and he held up the sock.

"Well then that probably shows that Black does have the Potter child. Or did," said one of the Aurors, taking the sock between two fingers, as if it would bite him.

"His broom's still here," Remus said. "And he didn't leave by Floo Powder."

"That probably means that he escaped by Apparation. Or on foot," said the other Auror. He ran a hand through his blond hair and sighed, "Several rooms upstairs were emptied. Lots of clothes are missing, and most personal items that he might have had. You can go take a look if you wish."

"Tell us if you find anything abnormal!"

Remus walked slowly up the stairs that lead to the upper part of Sirius' house. Sirius' room looked like a tornado had gone through it. The bed was missing, and the closet was open with clothes pouring out of it, and the drawers of his dresser had clothes spilling out too. Remus walked over to a small bookcase that sat beside where Sirius' bed should have been. Remus reached down and pulled the bookcase away from the wall. There was a safe fixed into the wall there. Remus knew the combination and opened it. It was empty.

Remus knew that the safe was where Sirius had kept a large stash of money, both Muggle (from many different countries) and Wizard. 'You can never be to prepared…' Remus slammed the safe door shut and shoved the bookcase back into its place. Before Remus left, he also noticed that the book that held all of Sirius' addresses and acquaintances' names was missing. That book was also the book that held the names of all his former girlfriends, which he had had a lot of.

Next Remus went over to the guestroom. Everything was pretty normal in here. Sirius rarely went in there, for the only guest he ever had was Remus or maybe Lily and James.

Then Remus went into the bathroom. The extra package of diapers that Sirius kept there in case Harry visited was missing, along with a few other things like brushes and shampoo.

Remus walked back downstairs and told the Aurors about the book and the safe. Then he left, unable to stay in his former best friend's house any longer.

~*~

Sirius appeared somewhere in France, with Harry still held tightly in his arms, and his shrunken things in his pocket. It was raining, and Sirius wrapped his cloak around Harry and himself, keeping them both from getting wet. He would have to change clothes soon, so he wouldn't be conspicuous.

'Remus, hurry up and get Peter sent to jail, so I don't have to continue this,' Sirius thought. A Muggle cab came down the street, and Sirius waved one of his hands to get the driver's attention. The driver stopped and Sirius climbed into the taxi.

As an Auror he had learned several other languages, one of them French, so he quickly asked the driver to take him to the nearest hotel or motel. Harry had fallen asleep in his arms, holding onto Sirius' shirt with one little hand.

Ten minutes later they stopped in front of a small little motel that was above a pub. Sirius, with his head covered in his cloak, managed to get a room from the woman (who spoke English) who was running the pub while using the name Orville Warkler.

Sirius walked into the room and put Harry down on the dumpy little bed, letting him rest. Sirius sat down in one of the chairs beside his godson's bed and didn't even feel himself slip into slumber…

Sirius awoke at two in the morning to the sound of Harry crying. Sirius jumped out of his chair and looked over to where the infant lay on the bed. Harry was on his hands and knees, wailing. "Shhh…shh…" Sirius said, picking up his godson and pacing around the room. "What's the matter Harry? What's the matter?"

Harry answered in another long wail.

"Shhh…shh… What's wrong? Do you need to be changed?"

Sirius looked in Harry's diaper, but that wasn't the problem.

"What's wrong Harry? What's wrong?"

The boy of barely 15 months wriggled in Sirius' arms, so he sat him on the counter.

"Do you need something to eat? Is that it?"
Sirius walked over to the kitchen, where a small bowl of fruit sat on the counter. He picked up a banana and took of the peel. He broke off a piece and held it up for Harry to eat. Harry shook his head and pushed it away. Sirius was not ready for this. He was barely 22 years old and he was taking care of a baby, which he was totally unprepared to do. He was supposed to be dating and having fun with his friends! Not running from the Ministry with an infant. He hadn't even had a lot of time to grieve about his two friends. Harry didn't even seem to know what was going on.

"Come on Harry, tell Sirius what's wrong," Sirius said. Sirius picked up another fruit, this time an orange, and held it for Harry to see. Harry pushed the orange out of Sirius' hand, and it rolled away on the floor.

"What do you want?" Sirius asked. Harry started crying again.

It never seemed this hard when Lily and James were there! But Lily and James weren't there anymore. Now it was Sirius' problem…

"What is it Harry?"

"Cheeri."

"Cheeri? You want a cherry?"

"CHEERI!"

"Okay, okay, here's a cherry," Sirius took out the stem and grabbed a knife from one of the drawers, cutting the cherry in half. "Mmm… Yummy cherry."

"CHEERI!" Harry pushed the cherry away and started crying again.

Suddenly there was a loud pounding on the door. Then there was a sound of keys rattling and the door opened, the landlady marching in.

"Stop that racket!" She shrieked. "You're disturbing the peace!"

"Sorry, I don't know what's wrong with him!"

"CHEERI!"

"That's it! Get out of my motel!"

"What?! It's three in the morning!"

"OUT! OUT!"

Sirius reluctantly grabbed his things, took Harry and walked back out into the night. Harry was still wailing, "CHEERI!" and Sirius didn't have any idea what to do next. It was obvious that Harry needed something, he just didn't know what. And he was sure that the whole wizarding world was after his skin by now. He didn't know if he should even attempt to do what he thought would be best, which was to go to America. Sirius knew that Apparating everywhere was risky business, but he couldn't use Floo Powder for someone was bound to see him.

'If only I had brought my bike or broom…' Sirius thought gloomily. 'It would make everything so much easier.' Sirius sighed, bounced Harry a few times, trying to stop his crying, and Disapparated.

* * *

Most people were celebrating at Hogwarts that night. There had been a special feast just for the occasion. However, several of the teachers were not joining in on the celebration. Professor Minerva McGonnogal spent much of the time blowing her nose in her napkin, while Professor Dumbledore was gone, tending to other business. Rubeus Hagrid, an extremely large man who worked as the Keeper of the keys and grounds, kept crying. Not everyone knew everything that happened. Not everyone knew that several of the teachers had known the Potters, or in Hagrid's case, met their son. Not everyone knew that many of the teachers knew Sirius Black, who had supposedly sent his best friends to their doom, and stolen baby Harry.

No one could believe Sirius actually did it. Not that funny, eccentric young man who could make anyone laugh, and was a real lady's man who then became an Auror. Sirius had adored the Potters. It just didn't make sense. But both Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, the only two survivors from the Marauders, said that Sirius was the Secret Keeper for the Potters. Even Dumbledore claimed that James told him that before he met his end.

And now Sirius was gone. Gone into the dark with his godson, probably to kill him or something like that. No one could believe it. No one wanted to.

Sirius and Harry walked through the isles of the Muggle supermarket they had arrived in. They were now in Spain, for Sirius felt it would be safe if they kept moving every few hours. Harry was staring avidly at the colorful boxes on the shelves. Sirius had finally gotten Harry to calm down by sticking a pacifier that he found in his cloak, into Harry's mouth. At least it got him to be quiet. Now they were looking for something to eat. They turned down the cereal isle and Harry started squirming in Sirius' arms, reaching at the shelves.

"What is it Harry?" Sirius asked, picking his godson out of the shopping cart. "Do you see something!"

Sirius took the pacifier out of Harry's mouth, and Harry started squealing, "CHEERI! CHEERI!"

Sirius looked up at the shelf. Cheerios. Lily had always kept a box in the house, saying it was her comfort food. Apparently she had taught Harry the same thing.

"CHEERI!"

Sirius picked the box off the shelf and handed it to Harry, who attempted to open it. After a few seconds the box was open and Harry was munching happily on small handfuls of cereal, while Sirius put some extra boxes into the cart. They went down a few more isles, while Sirius stocked up on food that was easy to make, like noodles, and canned soups. Sirius grabbed some fruits, even though Harry didn't seem to like them much. And last but not least, blond hair dye.

Sirius was rather reluctant about changing his hair color, especially to blond. He could easily change his hair color by magic, but that would wear off after 12 hours and that could cause problems. Besides, he could always dye his hair back to black.

Sirius walked up to the checkout counter and loaded the items onto the conveyor belt. He had to pry the Cheerio box from Harry's hands so the clerk could ring it up. It was 5 a.m. and the clerk was a middle aged Muggle woman who cooed at Harry in Spanish, before Sirius could give her money. Sirius put a quick Memory charm on her while no one else was looking (just in case) and the two of them left.

Sirius walked down one of the streets, and the sun was just rising over the horizon. Sirius didn't know where to go next. Harry would eventually have to go someplace during the day, so Sirius would have to come up with a disguise for his godson. He had enough money with him to last for a few weeks, but then he would have to get a Muggle job. And the next question was where would he get one? Where would they live? Europe was out of the question, since all the wizards on the continent would be looking for the two of them.

Pretty soon the Muggle authorities would be alerted as well. Fudge was going to do everything he could to get him and take Harry away from him.

"Dow!" Harry exclaimed. Sirius looked at his godson and repeated, "Dow?"

"DOW!" Harry pointed at the ground.

"Down?"
"DOW!"
Sirius put Harry on his feet, where he stood unsteadily for a moment and started walking away.

"Hey! Wait up!" Sirius walked quickly after his godson, bending over and grabbing his godson's hand. Harry stopped and commanded, "Uf!"

"Uf? Up?"

"UF!"

Sirius scooped Harry up into the air.

"Dow!"

Down.

"UF!"

Up.

"Dow!"

Sirius sighed and just continued walking his godson squirming and yelling, "DOW! DOW!"

~*~

Remus sighed and walked down the street. He was still in shock, two weeks after Lily and James had died. Sirius had betrayed Lily and James and stolen Harry, and had yet to be caught. Voldemort was gone, but Dumbledore had confided in Remus that it might not be forever. So that might mean that Sirius could help Voldemort get back to full strength. And what would become of Harry, the happy child of a strong wizard and witch, who was supposed to go to the finest Wizarding school in the land? Would he be used as one of Voldemort's evil minions? Remus didn't want to know what Sirius could do to the little child.

Remus looked up at the house that he had stopped in front of. Number 4, Privet Drive. It was perfectly normal looking. Perhaps a little too normal. Remus walked up to the door and rang the bell.

There was some loud screaming coming from inside, mainly, "CANDY! CANDY!" That must be the Dursley's son. Lily had mentioned him a few times, but she had only found out about it because of a childhood friend. Petunia Dursley, Lily's sister, hadn't talked to her for years.

A moment later the door opened, and a large, beefy man was standing there. He looked at Remus through his beady little eyes and barked, "Who are you?"

"My name is Remus Lupin, and I'm here to speak to Mrs. Petunia Dursley."

"I'm Vernon Dursley, her husband. Now what do you want?"

"I have some bad news about her sister and brother in law."

Vernon's eyes got wide and he snapped, spit flying everywhere. "She doesn't have a sister!"

Then he slammed the door in Remus' face. He stood there, stunned for a moment, and thought about leaving, before the door opened again, this time Petunia standing there.

"What about my sister?" She snapped.

"I'm sorry, your sister is dead. Along with her husband."

Petunia took it… well. Her face remained as sour as ever, "How?"

"Well, it's a rather long and complicated story-"

"I don't have the time. What happened to that little brat of theirs?"

Remus' frowned, "Harry was kidnapped by his godfather, who was supposed to be playing an important part in their protection. We are searching for the two of them right now."

Petunia rolled her eyes and said, "So why are you telling me this? I don't care about my-"

"CANDY!"
"One minute Dudley-kins!" She yelled in a singsong voice. She turned back to Remus.

"Well, the reason we told you this is because you are Harry's last living relatives. When we do find your nephew you will be his legal guardians."

Petunia got a disgusted look on her face, turned, and slammed the door.

"But I can see how this could be a problem for you," Remus said to the door. "After all this kid just lost his parents and we don't know where he is. I hope you can see how he'll need your love and care."

Remus rolled his eyes, and walked away from the Dursley's oh-so-normal house.

~*~

It had been two weeks since the murders. Sirius and Harry had managed to get across the ocean and were in Canada. Sirius' hair was now blonde, and shorter than before. It had been very stressful for Sirius to cut his own hair, which he had kept long all of his life. Now it was about chin length. Sirius also had bags under his eyes from when Harry cried during the night, keeping Sirius from sleeping. Sirius had gone shopping and bought a few Muggle clothes, like jeans and tee shirts.

Sirius was living under the name Walter Sawyer, a single father who had just gotten over a nasty divorce and didn't want to talk about it. Harry and him were living in a small flat in Quebec, where he could easily blend in with the crowd (so long as he didn't talk, because he wasn't very good with accents). Harry liked the birds that would perch on the windowsill. Sirius had dyed Harry's hair brown, and his new name was Parker. The cut that had been on Harry's forehead had disappeared, leaving only a lightning bolt shaped scar.

Sirius had conjured up fake birth certificates and ID's for the two of them. Now Sirius was searching for a job. He had applied to one in a bookstore and in a hardware store. Both had a daycare that Harry could go to during the day. Sirius had had a good job as an Auror. He got to travel, he got to fight evil beings, and he got to meet lots of women. Right now the only woman he had met was the woman who ran the bookstore, and she was at least 70 years old.

Sirius was still hoping that Remus was going to do something to get Sirius out of this predicament. So far there hadn't been anything in the Muggle news about Harry's "kidnapping," so the search hadn't intensified too much. Sure, Sirius sometimes saw a wizard walking down the street, trying to stay inconspicuous while searching for some sign of Sirius or Harry, but they never found anything. Sirius put a light memory charm on almost everyone he bought something from, or met on the street. No one knew where he was, except for the landlady of the apartment, and to the people that he had applied to jobs for. Not one person.

* * *

It had been nearly two months. Two months since Lily and James had died. Two months since Sirius or Harry had been seen. Just a few days before Christmas.

Remus ran a hand through his hair and paced around the kitchen. Peter had owled, saying that he had important information for Remus, but he couldn't say anything through a letter. Peter seemed to have taken the deaths of Lily and James the hardest, for he had stayed in his house, just owling people about the Potter's. He only spoke to Remus once during the first week, just to say that they didn't know where Sirius had gone.

Peter thought that Sirius committed suicide, and ordered people in the Ministry to search the seas, in case he jumped off a cliff. However, Peter seemed the most nervous the last time they talked, like someone had threatened him or something.

There was a knock at the door of Remus' flat, and Peter walked in, not waiting for Remus to open if for him.

"Remus, I-I have something very important to tell you," Peter said, wringing his hands and biting his lower lip as though he had to force himself to talk. "It's about Harry."

"What! What is it?!"

"I-I think you'd better sit down," Peter said, pointing at a chair with one shaky finger. Remus complied and looked up at his only friend.

"Remus… today I found a dead body that had washed to shore while we were searching by the channel " Peter said. "An infant's body. We think it was Harry."