TWO WEEKS LATER
The harsh rain whipped against Harry's bedroom window. He was sitting on his bed, staring blankly at the opposite wall. Harry hadn't heard from Sirius at all since he had left two weeks ago. It was the end of the first week of August. Harry's birthday had not been a cheery celebration this year, he sat in his room all day, wondering about Sirius. Lupin had been gone on Harry's birthday and a young woman had stayed at the house. Her name was Alex and she was an associate of Sirius's. Harry stared blankly at the wall. He tried to think of something else. Like the five letters hidden under his mattress. Harry decided to focus his energy on those. He grabbed one and opened it with a shaky hand. Harry took a quivering breath as he read the letter.
Dear Mr. H Potter,
I am pleased to inform you that during your sixth year at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, we had scouts attending all the house games. We were ecstatic at some of the fantastic maneuver you incorporated into your game. We are writing you this letter in hopes that you will join the English National Quidditch team. We understand that you still have another year of schooling to complete, and that is why we are offering you this position for the summer following this one. We need your reply as soon as possible, due to the fact that we need to arrange a spot for you at our training camp. The training camp begins on July 5th of next year and lasts nine months. Please respond as soon as possible.
Tim Gregory
Trainer, Manager and Coach of England's National team.
Harry's heart fluttered. He knew this was what the letter was about. What was he going to do?
ONE WEEK LATER
It had been three weeks since Sirius had gone, and Harry wasn't handling it well. He was getting very little sleep and wasn't eating much. Lupin supposed it was from the worry. Harry had been keeping in excellent contact with his friends, particularly Abby. She was great support for him. It was stormy morning when Harry trudged down the stairs in his flannel pajama pants and grey t-shirt. Lupin smiled at him when Harry plopped down at the table.
"How'd you sleep?" He asked kindly, glancing at the dark circles under Harry's eyes.
"The usual." Harry mumbled.
Lupin sighed.
"Harry, why don't you let me make you a bit of breakfast?" Lupin asked hopefully. Harry sighed and shook his head.
"No thanks, I'm not hungry." He muttered before leaving the kitchen. Lupin stared sadly after Harry.
"Sirius, you better get back here soon..." He said under his breath. Harry was halfway up the stairs when there was a clap of thunder. At exactly the same time, the front doors boomed open. Harry stared at a cloaked figure as they stepped into the house, drenched from the rain. The figure dropped two bags on the floor, closed the door and lowered their hood. Harry's heart skipped a beat.
"Sirius!" He cried happily. Harry raced from the stairs and wrapped his arms around Sirius. Sirius smiled as he squeezed Harry. Lupin entered the room and smiled. This was the first time in three weeks that he had seen a true smile on Harry's face.
"Let me look at you." Sirius laughed as he and Harry separated. Harry stood back and Sirius's face fell as he noticed the dark circles under Harry's eyes and the significant amount of weight Harry had lost.
"What happened to you?" Sirius gasped. He ran a thumb under Harry's eyes.
"I'm fine..." Harry said awkwardly. He smiled at Sirius. Harry was now noticing all the scratches on Sirius's face and a scar near his ear. Sirius was still staring at Harry, a worried expression on his face.
"I'm just glad you're home." Harry grinned as he hugged Sirius again. Sirius returned the hug and stared at Lupin, who was standing behind Harry. Lupin just bit his lip and bowed his head. Sirius and Harry separated.
"Hey kiddo, why don't you go have a shower?" Sirius said kindly. Harry grinned and bolted up the stairs. Sirius turned to Lupin.
"What the hell happened to him Remus?" He asked, trying not to yell. Lupin folded his arms across his chest and shook his head.
"I've never seen him like that before. He hardly ate anything, I don't think he slept more than five hours a night. He just...fell apart." He sighed. Sirius was shocked. He was staring up the stairs.
"Well, he's not like that when he goes away to school..." He said quietly. Lupin shook his head.
"I think it was because he was worried about you. I mean...you didn't write to him in three weeks. He must have figured you..." Lupin trailed off. Sirius shook his head, disbelieving. He was drenched from head to foot.
"I'm gonna go get changed." He said hastily. Lupin nodded. When Harry came down the stairs with a towel swung around his neck, Sirius was sitting at the kitchen table. Lupin had left a few minutes before. Harry was smiling broadly as he sat down across from Sirius. Sirius was wearing a very serious expression. It didn't suit him.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked curiously. Sirius looked up. His eyes locked with Harry's. Sirius's eye were full of worry and concern.
"I was talking to Remus...he told me you weren't doing too well while I was gone." He said quietly. Harry rolled his eyes.
"I was fine!" He laughed. Sirius was eyeing him.
"Sirius, I was fine! I'm just glad you're home now." Harry grinned. Sirius hesitated, then shook his head.
"You've got dark circles under your eyes and you've lost a lot of weight." He said seriously. Harry shook his head.
"It's nothing, Sirius!" He said shakily. Sirius sighed.
"What's going on Harry?" He asked. Harry's eyes locked with Sirius's. Harry sighed and looked at Sirius wearily.
"Look, I'm fine now, okay? Can we just drop this? I'd like to enjoy the fact that you're home." He said, exasperated. Sirius hesitated, then nodded.
"Fine, but I'm porking you up before you go back to school!" He said with a grin. Sirius waved his wand and a large pizza with all the toppings, appeared in front of him.
"Terrific breakfast!" Harry laughed as he grabbed a large piece of pizza. Sirius grabbed one too and they began chomping away.
Almost an hour later, the pizza box was empty, along with a potato chip back and a flat of pop.
"I'm a horrible parent!" Sirius laughed as he folded up the pizza box. Harry smiled.
"Nah...furthest thing from it." He said quietly. Sirius rolled his eyes.
"Did you get all your homework done?" He asked as he crumpled up the chip bag.
"Yup..." Harry sighed.
"That's good because you're gonna need to be on the ball this year. You have to be thinking about what you wanna be..." Sirius said, his brow furrowed. Harry stopped what he was doing and looked around nervously. Sirius noticed.
"Harry, what's wrong?" He asked curiously. Harry shook his head.
"Nothing...I...um...it's just...er...nothing." Harry said hastily. He finished cleaning up then made his way into the living room. Harry wasn't sure how Sirius would react. Would he want him to be more than a quidditch player? Would he be disappointed? Harry sighed as he plopped down onto the couch. He realized how tired he was. A yawn escaped Harry's mouth as he stared into the crackling fire. Harry sprawled out on the couch, resting his head on a pillow. The golden flames were flickering in the fireplace.
Sirius sighed and finished what he was doing. He went into the living room and smiled. Harry was fast asleep on the couch. Sirius grabbed a blanket that was draped over the arm chair and tucked it around Harry. Harry sighed happily and continued on sleeping. Sirius sighed. If only Harry knew...
LAST WEEK OF AUGUST
It was early in the morning, the sun was still sitting low in the sky. Sirius stood in front of the bathroom mirror with his shirt off. His hands were resting on the counter and he was staring into the mirror. Sirius sighed as he eyed the tattoo on his chest. The tattoo was over his heart, along with another one. Sirius had received the tattoo while he was gone. Both of them for that matter. He ran a finger along the phoenix, with it's wings spread. Then, he ran a finger along the other tattoo. A single word...Harry.
That why he had gone back to the Order of the Phoenix. For Harry. If only Harry knew the things that were going on in the magical world...if only Sirius could take of the blinders and let Harry see. He might then stand a chance... Sirius watched as the Phoenix fluttered from it's spot and rested on his arm. There was only that one tattoo now. That tattoo that was keeping Sirius going. Sirius pulled on his shirt and ran a comb through his black mane. He shuffled down the stairs and wasn't surprised to see someone sitting in the kitchen. Sirius poured himself a cup of coffee.
"You shouldn't be here Mundungus." He said quietly. A man a little older than Sirius sighed.
"Sirius, you must return to the group." He said quietly. There was a creek upstairs. Sirius stared past the living room and up the stairs. No one was there.
"You should go. I don't want Harry to see you here." Sirius said as he sipped his coffee. Mundungus Fletcher stood up.
"You have responsibilities to us." He said forcefully. Sirius put his coffee cup down.
"I have another responsibility. Harry. Do you remember James, Mundungus? Remember our black haired, blue eyed friend? Remember him? That's his son and he is my first priority." He said strongly. Mundungus bowed his head.
"You have the mark, do you not?" He asked quietly. Sirius rolled up his sleeve and showed him the Phoenix.
Mundungus.
"The first of September Sirius. You drop him off at the train station and then you return to us. We've already lost Traunple. We need you." He said forcefully. Sirius nodded and shook Fletcher's hand. He dispparated with a loud pop. Sirius picked up his coffee cup and sipped the liquid. He sighed heavily and put the cup back down. It was going to be a hard year...
Harry shuffled down the stairs around ten. He was just wearing his pajama pants. Harry smiled at Sirius as he poured himself a glass of juice. Sirius returned the smile and stared at Harry as he drank his juice.
"What?" Harry laughed. Sirius shook his head.
"Have you thought any more about what you want to do after graduation?" He asked, flipping through the paper. Harry felt the breath catch in his lungs.
"There are some good magical university's you could go to or, you could go to work for the Ministry." Sirius said lazily as he read the articles. He glanced at Harry, who had become very shifty.
"Harry, what's wrong?" Sirius asked, folding the paper. Harry shook his head and stood up abruptly. He turned to go, but Sirius grabbed his wrist.
"Harry, what's going on?" He asked kindly. Harry sighed and bowed his head. He turned around to face Sirius.
"I er...got an offer to playonthenationalquidditchteam." Harry said quickly, so Sirius couldn't tell what he had said. Sure enough, Sirius laughed.
"Slow it down and break it up!" He laughed. Harry bit his lip and looked into Sirius's eyes.
"I got an offer to play on the national quidditch team." He said quietly, twisting his hands inside of each other. Sirius stared at him for a minute.
"E-England's t-team?" He asked. Harry nodded nervously, Sirius wasn't going to like this... Much to Harry's surprise, Sirius smiled.
"Congratulations!" He laughed. Harry stared at him dumbly.
"Wh-what?" He asked, shocked. Sirius jumped up and wrapped his arms around Harry.
"My big quidditch star!" He laughed. Harry was numb with disbelief. When they separated, Harry stared at Sirius.
"Y-you're not m-mad?" He stuttered. Sirius laughed.
"Mad! Why would I be mad?" He asked. Harry was mouthing wordlessly.
"Er...um...they n-need me to write th-them back. They've s-sent me five letters already." He said quietly, still shocked.
"Well, go get them! We'll send em back!" Sirius laughed. Harry nodded and darted up the stairs. Sirius was smiling until Harry disappeared, then his smile was gone.
"Thank god..." He breathed.
AUGUST 31st
Harry and Sirius sat in the kitchen, eating their dinner. The thunder rolled outside. A horrible storm was about. The lights flickered and Harry looked up from his plate of spaghetti.
"You can charm the lights, can't you?" Harry asked as the lights flickered again. Sirius sighed and shook his head.
"Lights are a muggle invention. That would be misusing muggle artifacts." He said in a low voice. Harry nodded. The lights flickered yet again. They finished up their spaghetti and Harry started the dishes. Sirius thought Harry should have chores, like muggles. Harry filled the soap full of water and started the tedious task of scrubbing the plates. Sirius wrenched open the fridge and put the jug of juice back. He slapped Harry's side.
"Glad to see that two weeks of pigging out can put you back to your normal weight!" He laughed. Harry rolled his eyes and continued washing the dishes.
When he was finished, he drained the sink and dried his hands on a dish towel.
"Go get your homework and I'll glance over it..." Sirius said. He winked at Harry. Harry nodded and climbed the stairs. Sirius plopped down in the living room, in front of the crackling fire. He stared into the dancing flames, thinking to himself.
'Thank god Harry got that spot on the quidditch team...what if he had become an Auror? He would've thrown himself into danger and god knows how long it would take for someone to shoot the right curse at him... And besides, he loves quidditch!'. Sirius assured himself of this everyday. He wanted Harry to do something he loved and he loved quidditch. Harry appeared at the top of the stairs. He was running down them when the lights flickered and went out. There were several loud thumps and muffled cursing from Harry. Sirius stood up and peered through the darkness.
"Harry, you okay?" He asked, reaching for his wand.
"Yeah.." Harry mumbled. Sirius muttered 'Lumos' and a small beam of light was cast. Harry was laying at the bottom of the stairs, surrounded by his books. He scrambled to his feet and picked up his work. He shoved something into Sirius's hands. A shoe. Sirius's shoe. Sirius stifled a laugh. That's what Harry had tripped on.
"Oh shut it!" Harry snapped. Then, he smiled. Sirius waved his wand and the house was lined with flickering candles. They cast an eerie light as Harry sat down in the living room and opened his books. An eerie light indeed... Harry packed up his school books as Sirius finished checking them over.
"I'm just gonna go put these in my trunk..." Harry sighed. Sirius nodded and watched as Harry disappeared up the stairs. There was another role of thunder that echoed through the large house. Sirius was sitting in front of the fire, gazing into the flames. He didn't notice the eerie shadow that was being cast against the candles. Sirius didn't hear the squeak of a floor board behind him. Sirius sighed and rested his hands behind his head. Very quickly, a hand clapped over Sirius's mouth and someone grabbed his wrists. Sirius was becoming drowsy as something was waved underneath his nose. He began to sway and was conscious just long enough to see someone slinking up the stairs. Sirius went limp...
Harry was bent over his trunk, his back to the door. He was tucking his books underneath his robes. Harry sighed loudly as he tried to cram his Transfiguration text in between his Potions and Charms texts. Harry felt the hairs stand up on the back of his neck, but ignored it. Suddenly, he had a feeling there was someone behind him. Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It happened so fast, Harry didn't know what was going on. A thick rope came out in front of him and pressed against his neck. Two hands pulled the rope behind Harry and pulled it tightly. Harry started to choke, prying at the rope...
Sirius groaned as his eyes fluttered open. He looked around and had no idea where he was. Sirius sat up and grabbed his head. Everything was spinning. He closed his eyes and took a minute. When he opened them, everything was focused. Sirius squinted through the darkness. He just realized he was soaked to the bone and it was still raining. Sirius shakily got to his feet. There were chains hanging from his wrists and his shirt was torn. Sirius stood in the rain for a minute and then a name popped into his head. Harry. Sirius felt a rush of panic. He looked around, wildly. It took him a minute to realize where he was. The field behind their house. Sirius made his way through the grass. There was blood pouring down his face and arm. His hair was sticking up everywhere from the rain. The chains rattled from his wrists. They were shackles that had been cut. Sirius emerged from the field and jumped over the fence, into his backyard. He could hear voices but had no idea who's. Sirius was beginning to stagger. He looked down. There was a large cut across his leg and a gash across his temple. Sirius began to sway. No, he was determined to find Harry. Make sure he was safe. Sirius dragged himself around the side of his house. He peered around the corner. There was a large group of people standing by the front door, but Sirius recognized them. He emerged and began to stagger towards them. Lupin looked up from the person he was talking to. He was very pale.
"Sirius!" He yelled. Lupin tore from the group and towards his friend. The others hurried forwards also. Lupin grabbed Sirius around the middle.
"Harry..." Sirius choked. Lupin stared at him for a minute, then turned to Mundungus Fletcher, who was grabbing Sirius under the arm.
"Let's get him inside." He said quickly. Mundungus nodded and they hurried past the other people. Lupin and Fletcher lowered Sirius onto a bench in the entrance way. The doors to the main part of the house were closed. Lupin started to examine Sirius's injuries, but Sirius grabbed Lupin's wrist.
"Harry...where's Harry?" He choked. Lupin became even more pale and bit his lip. Sirius knew. He knew from the expression Lupin was wearing. Harry was gone.
Lupin removed the broken shackles from Sirius's wrists and mended the cuts that were on his face and arm. Fletcher had mended the gash across Sirius's leg. Lupin was staring at Sirius's torn shirt...or past the shirt. He peered through the rip and saw Harry's name tattooed over Sirius's heart. He sighed.
Sirius opened his eyes. They were really red...he was doing everything he could to hold back the tears.
"He's gone, isn't he?" He choked. Fletcher hastily left the entrance way and went back out into the rain. Lupin looked into Sirius's eyes and slowly nodded. Sirius stood up abruptly. Lupin stood as well. Sirius pushed the doors that led into the living room, open. He had to cover his mouth as he looked around. There was a thick trail of blood leading up the stairs...or leading down the stairs... Sirius was shaking as he climbed the stairs, avoiding the glimmering blood trail. When he reached the landing, he extended a shaking hand and pushed Harry's door open. There was a large pool of blood in the middle of the room and Harry's trunk was open. Near the pool of blood, was Harry's silver chain, with the lightning bolt. Sirius stepped into the room and picked up the chain. He squeezed it in his hand, allowing tears to fall for the first time that evening. Lupin was standing in the hallway, watching sadly. This man...Sirius, Padfoot...he had never had children of his own. He had never really had a family, except James. Now Lupin looked at Sirius. He wasn't the careless teenager from Hogwarts...he was a responsible man...a responsible parent. Lupin was watching Sirius when there were footsteps on the staircase. Dumbledore appeared. He was wearing an extremely serious expression and holding something in his hand. He was now a foot from Lupin and held out the thick rope. It was covered with blood.
"It was outside, in the bush." He said quietly. Lupin closed his eyes and shook his head. He opened his eyes again and looked at Sirius, who was sitting on Harry's bed, clutching the chain.
"We have to find him..." Lupin said quietly.
A/N: I'm going to try to post as much as I can because of how long I took to update. Once again please accept my apologies for making you wait so long for an update, it will never happen again. I 'm going to see if I can post either tomorrow or friday, but don't worry I wont make you wait long.