November 18th. 2005-A/N: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is THE best movie in the world. It is even better than the Lord of the Rings movies, which is saying a lot. The other three HP movies have been kind of disappointing in their childishness. This one was MUCH better. Definitely the darkest. Rock on. Go see it now if you haven't yet!

November 22nd, 2005- A/N: I just realized that I had already started this chapter a while back, forgot about it, and then started this one from scratch. I just found it. I may do something with it (deleted scenes:P ) but maybe not. That may be why this has been so long in coming. Anyway, got a long weekend coming up (THANKSGIVING!) so expect more updates. Righto!

Last time:
…"He put his wand behind his back, screamed for the whole street to hear about how I betrayed Lily and James, and then blew up the street behind him. He killed thirteen people. He cut off his own finger and then transformed into a rat, running into the sewer. When the authorities got there, they thought I had done it. I got arrested and sent to Azkaban without a trial, where I've been for the last nine years. I escaped, something no one has ever done before, to find you Harry. Because I love you."

He hugged Harry to him and was now crying harder than ever. Harry and Dudley were crying as well. "I don't blame you," Harry whispered. Sirius hugged him tight. "Thank you, kiddo." he said. He went on.

"You escaped Voldemort with nothing but that scar on your head Harry. Do you know what it means?" Harry shook his head. "It's a curse scar Harry. A very powerful curse scar. Voldemort turned his wand on you and tried to kill you with the most power killing curse ever known. No one has ever survived it Harry. Except for you. Something about you stopped him. The curse hit you but then bounced off and hit him, tearing him from his body. No one has seen him since. You defeated him Harry. You survived when no one else could. You are 'the boy who lived.'"

The next few days were relatively quite at Grimmauld Place. The night after Harry's party they had gone out into the back and yard, which also had strong charms on it so that no one could see it or hear anything that went on back there, and had a bon fire. They burned some wood that they had found from surrounding trees and also Harry's clothes from the Dursley's, which everyone found highly amusing. Harry would never have to wear hand-me-downs again.

At night, before they went to sleep, Sirius would sit in Harry and Dudley's room with them and tell them stories from his days as a Marauder. They usually involved someone named Snape getting pranked. Those seemed to be Sirius' favorites. Other times, he would tell them stories about Harry's parents or things Harry had done as a baby, even though it pained him to do so. Harry and Dudley would, in turn, tell Sirius about the things they had done to Dudley's parents when they weren't paying attention. Of course, they left out the punishments that usually accompanied the pranks…

After a few days though, it became clear that they had to tell someone that they were there. They were running out of food fast. And Sirius needed a wand. In the end, Sirius decided to write to a man named Albus Dumbledore. He told Harry and Dudley that this man was the Headmaster of the school they had gotten their letters from, and that, hopefully, he wouldn't jump to conclusions and have Sirius arrested right away. They could only hope.

In order to ensure that Dumbledore actually read the letter, they decided to have Harry begin it. Surely Dumbledore would read a letter from Harry, who they were probably all searching for by now, the wards at Number Four Privet Drive set to go off it Harry was absent for more than 24 hours. So they wrote the letter.

Dear Professor Dumbledore,

I hope that you will read this letter all the way through before you jump to any conclusions. I know that everyone is probably worried about me, but I assure you that I am safe. My cousin is here with me as well. I am writing you because we are in need of your help. You see, the place where we are staying isn't very equipped, and we are running low on things. My friend who is taking care of us also needs a wand, for he has lost his. And before you read this next part, as I said before, I assure that I am very safe here. In fact, I am safer here then I ever was at my relatives. They didn't like me very much… but moving on, the man who we are staying with is Sirius Black, my godfather. Now, before you rush to alert the authorities or anything, he is innocent. He told me the whole story, and Peter Pettigrew framed him. Besides, if he was guilty, I don't think that I would be around to write this letter to you. He also saved my life the other day, so I don't think he wants me dead. Do you? He wants to write now.

-Harry Potter

Professor Dumbledore,

What Harry wrote is true. Pettigrew framed me for their deaths. I'll give you the condensed version of it now. A couple of days before Lily and James died, Peter and I switched. He became the Secret Keeper. We didn't tell anyone, because we didn't know who the spy was. If only we had… Anyway, I thought it was the perfect plan. No one would ever suspect Peter to be the Secret Keeper. He was so weak and shy… so we switched. The day they died I got worried and went to check on him. He was gone. I went to Godric's Hollow, only to find out I was too late. I found Harry, and then went after Peter. I found him, and he screamed for the whole street to hear how I had killed Lily and James, then he put his wand behind his back and blew up the whole street, cut off his finger, and then transformed into a rat and ran into the sewer. But not before hitting me with a laughing charm. Did you know that we are all animagus'? Peter was a rat, I am a dog, and James was a stag. It was so we could all go with Remus… But please, we are writing to you because we need your help. I took Harry from his relatives because they were abusing him Albus. Badly. If I hadn't been there… Dursley was enraged because Harry and Dudley had run away after receiving their Hogwarts letters. He had already beaten Harry into unconsciousness when I got there. If I ever see that man again… But please. We need food, and the boys still have to get their school supplies. Will you at least come talk to me? To us? Please believe me, I'm telling the truth. I love Harry as if he was my own. I would never hurt him.

Sincerely,

Sirius Black

Luckily, Sirius' parents, while they still believed that he would follow in their footsteps, had taught him and his brother a little wandless magic, but not nearly enough to get by on, intending to teach him more when he grew older. So when they had written their letter and sealed it in an envelope, Sirius charmed it so that only Dumbledore would be able to see what was written in the letter. Anyone else would find a blank piece of parchment. They tied the letter to an owl that Sirius had found at Grimmauld Place when they had first had arrived. He had said that it had belonged to his brother, Regulus, and he was surprised it was still alive.

All they could do now was wait.

It was late at night when Harry woke up to voices coming from downstairs. At first he was confused, but then he remembered. The letter! He looked over at his cousin, who was still asleep, and then slipped out of his bed to go downstairs and hear what was being said. He didn't have to go far.

"I can't believe you would kidnap him like that! It's not enough that you kill his parents, then you have to kidnap him from his relatives! God, how the hell did you escape Azkaban anyway? We'll just have to find somewhere else to lock you up, you son of a bitch-"

"Now Remus, that is quite enough. When I asked you to come you agreed to be calm. Please see that you are." Said the voice of an older man. Harry figured it was Dumbledore. The other man actually growled. "Calm? CALM? You want me to be calm when sitting right here is the man that betrayed my best friend and then kidnapped his son?"

Harry decided to make his presence known then. "He didn't kidnap me," he said softly, rubbing his eyes and walking into the room. He looked around at the three men staring at him before he climbed into Sirius' lap and made himself comfortable. "He saved me from the Dursleys. They hated me, and let me know that everyday." He looked at the man named Remus. "Did you know that before I came here, I had never even slept in a bed before? All I got was a cot in my cupboard, sometimes the floor. I like beds better," he stated, cuddling into Sirius and ignoring the shocked looks on all their faces. "No," he said, "you didn't know that, because nobody ever came to see how I was doing. I may be your best friends son, but you didn't care before this. You never came to see if I was okay, or see if they were treating me right. You didn't care. But Sirius did. He even broke out of Azkaban for me, because he loves me. It's nice." He buried his head in Sirius' chest so that none of them would see the tears in his eyes.

"I-I'm so sorry Harry," he heard the man named Remus whisper. He heard a thump as the man collapsed into a chair. He had been pacing around the room. "Too late," Harry muttered. He felt Sirius hug him, and relaxed slightly into his arms. He liked having someone to hug him. It was a nice feeling, having someone love you.

Remus Lupin watched as Sirius carried Harry upstairs. He felt like a jackass. As you should, a voice in his head told him. He just scowled. He hated being wrong. And then there was Dumbledore, sitting there with that goddamned twinkle in his eye. Like he knew that Sirius was innocent, or that he hadn't kidnapped Harry. And he didn't tell him.

No, he just let Remus rant and look like a fool. But then again, he was a fool. He had just displayed the embodiment of Gryffindor House: rashness. He hadn't bothered to listen to anyone else, instead just screaming and yelling and bringing up what was obviously a sore subject for Sirius; for all of them.

But what made it the worst wasn't that he had looked like an idiot, or had acted rashly; it was the fact that he had Sirius. He had seen the look in Sirius' eyes as he yelled and accused Sirius of committing the heinous acts for which he sent to Azkaban, he had chosen to ignore it. But when Harry, little Harry Potter, son of one of his best friends, had come down and sat in Sirius' lap, defended Sirius, and relax when the convict hugged him, Remus knew he had been wrong.

So now he looked like a jackass in the eyes of the two people he cared about most: his best friend since the age of eleven, and the son of his other best friend, who was all he had left of said best friend.

I hate you Albus Dumbledore.

Yes, it was easy to blame Dumbledore, the bastard, for not informing him that there was more to this story than met the eye, but Remus knew part of was his fault, and that he would have to own up to his rash actions towards Sirius if he ever wanted his friend back.

And by god did he want his friend.

The last few years had been hard on Remus. With two friends "dead" and the third a traitor rotting in Azkaban, Remus felt he had nothing to live for.

So he didn't.

He let himself go, not bothering to wash up all the time, or eat, or do anything really except lie around. He relied on the money that James had left him in his will to survive for the most part, but he did get a brief job at a bookstore in Diagon Alley. He didn't want to use James' money up right away, he didn't want to hurt his memory by taking the money for granted.

And he just didn't want the money. He wanted James.

But James was dead. And he had left this money to help Remus survive. Fate was cruel. The job at the bookstore didn't last long. Once the owner found out he was a werewolf, he fired him, giving him some lame excuse about 'not needing the help' when it was obvious he did.

After that Remus fell into a depression. The only people who didn't see him as a monster were dead. No one would want to hire a werewolf or even be friends with one. He was alone.

He tried to get Harry. With Sirius in Azkaban, the role of godfather fell to him. So legally, he could have Harry come and live with him. He made a good case of it too. Albus had even volunteered to watch Harry on full moon nights, so that he wouldn't be able to hurt him. But the Ministry still denied his request. Under Wizarding laws werewolves couldn't have children, and that extended to adoption or even temporary custody.

With his dream crushed, he fell even deeper into depression, so deep that no one could pull him out. Until Albus had told him Harry had been kidnapped. Here was his chance. His chance to something good for once. He could prove to Harry that he cared, even though he wasn't there. And he could prove to himself that he wasn't worthless or a monster. He was just Remus.

But even that had failed. Once again, he felt like a monster.

The next morning, Sirius and Remus were still on the couch talking. Remus had apologized repeatedly for being so callous, but Sirius had told him each and every time that he didn't blame him. He probably would have done the same thing, had he been in Remus' place.

They had both been through so much, it was bound to have negative effects on them. Remus was still floored by the thought that it was Peter who was the traitor. Short, clumsy, stuttering Peter; who had followed them all around like a dog on a leash. Who had seemed to worship the very ground James walked on. It just didn't make sense.

But, as Sirius said, it was war. It wasn't supposed to make sense.

While Sirius and Remus talked, Albus had taken the kids into the "kitchen" to eat breakfast. After they had finished, he told them all kinds of stories about Hogwarts, fascinating the two young boys with his talk of ghosts and secret passageways, suits of armor that moved, and a certain poltergeist who never missed an opportunity to wreak havoc on anyone who got in his way.

Needless to say, Harry and Dudley couldn't wait to get to Hogwarts.

It was decided later that it would be Remus who would take the two boys to Diagon Alley to get their school supplies. Harry had forgiven him for his harsh words, though it took a little convincing, mainly in the form of chocolate chip cookies. It was clear to Remus and Dumbledore that Harry was fiercely protective of his godfather and it take some serious power to pry those two apart.

Sirius sighed as he once again tried to get Harry to go through the floo system. The minute they had gone over to the fire, Harry had attached himself to his leg, obviously afraid of the fire. Poor kid.

"Harry," he said gently, kneeling down and looking Harry in the eyes, "I promise you, that fire won't hurt you. You can't even feel it anymore. See how it's green," Harry nodded. "That means that it's safe to go into to. It can't hurt you anymore, k?" Harry shook his head, pressing himself more tightly against Sirius.

It was painfully obvious that Harry wasn't going anywhere through the fire. Sirius picked him up and carried him to the couch, Dudley worriedly trailing behind them. Remus came over and sat down next to them, rubbing Harry's back softly. "It's okay," he said softly, "I can just apparate them. It's not comfortable, but at least there's no fire." Sirius nodded.

"Harry?" he said softly in the boy's ear, "Harry? Are you okay now?" He felt Harry nod against his chest. "Remus is going to take you guys to Diagon Alley a different way, okay? No fire involved. I swear." Harry picked his up off Sirius' chest and looked at him warily for a few seconds, then nodded. Remus smiled softly at him as he picked him up. "This will be kind of uncomfortable, but it won't hurt you, okay?" Harry nodded. "Alright then. Dudley come over here and take my hand," he said as he walked toward the door, the only of the house without anti-apparation wards. Dudley grabbed Remus' hand as they stood there, and then with a loud crack, they were gone.

Harry looked around the street warily. They had apparated into The Leaky Cauldron, a run down restaurant in downtown London, which turned out to be a gateway into the wizarding world. So here they were, in Diagon Alley. Harry the name was more than a little odd, since this definitely was not an alley. There were shops everywhere, and people walking around in funny outfits. Nothing like he'd ever seen before anyway.

Harry reluctantly allowed Remus to put him down, but not until he had felt sure that he was safe. That fire still had him feeling all shaky.

Harry could vividly remember all the times his Uncle had used fire to hurt him, to make him scream. And then he would laugh. He knew Sirius would never hurt him, and he was beginning to trust Remus as well, but still, fire was meant to cause pain, and he didn't like pain.

He had tried to be brave, to let go of Sirius' leg and go through the fire like they were saying. He had seen Dudley there, standing by the green flames holding that weird green powder, ready to go through the fire. Dudley wasn't scared. But then, no one had ever set fire to a stick and poke him with it repeatedly, just to make him hurt, or laughed as he burnt himself trying to reach the stove to cook their dinner like a slave, or…

Harry shook his head to fight the memories. He didn't want to start crying now. They'd all think he was baby. He didn't want Remus to think he was a coward. He just wanted friends.

He held tight to Remus' hand as they walked to into the first store. Madame Malkin's Robes. He looked around curiously. Here were all the funny things, robes, that the people were wearing. Would he have to wear them too?

He was pulled out of his thought's by a woman coming up to them. "Why hello there, Mr. Lupin! And who are these two? Is there something you never told me, Mr. Lupin?" Remus just laughed. "Please Madame, call me Remus. And this is Dudley Dursley and Harry Potter. We need Hogwarts robes for them."

"Oh! Harry Potter! Dear me! You do look like your father deary, except your eyes. You have your mothers eyes. Oh! All the times I saw those two. And only once together. James Potter, always causing trouble that one. Turned all my robes pink one time, that one did! Took me a week to fix them all up again!" she exclaimed as she ran to get robes for them.

"Now, up here on these boxes, yes, that's right," she said as they climbed up on the boxes she had conjured. "Now, let's get your measurements." She waved her stick again, Harry guessed it was her wand, and the tape measurers sprang to life, flying over and measuring them both. Remus laughed at the looks on their faces. "Never seen much magic before," he explained to Madame Malkin, who just smiled at them.

When the tape measurers were done, she waved her wand again and suddenly their clothes had been replaced with black robes. "Looks very nice dears. These will do fine," with another wave of her wand, there clothes were back to normal. Then she turned and looked at Remus. "Now, your turn dear, up you go," she said, looking him up and down over her glasses. "But-" Remus started, shaking his head. "I will not take no for an answer, young man. There is no reason for you to be walking around in those tattered robes. You look like a- what's that word the muggles use?- oh yes, a bum! Now get your bum up on these boxes so that I can fit you for a robe!"

Half an hour later, they left the store, each with a package of robes. Remus, still grumbling under his breath, shrunk all the robes and stuck them in his pocket. "She is right you know," Dudley told him, "you look much better in those nice, new robes. Why didn't you get some before now?"

"Because I didn't want to. I should have known she would do that. She's always been a little… outgoing. Now, who wants some ice-cream?" Harry and Dudley both nodded, Harry a tad more enthusiastically, as he never had ice-cream all that often.

They got their ice-cream and decided to walk around a bit more, Remus pointing out anything out of the ordinary, which was just about everything, to the boys. At one point Dudley became particularly interested in a wooden sculpture of a wolf that actually moved and howled. Remus took him inside the store at the same moment that Harry's ice-cream, which had been melting rapidly, fell off his cone and hit the ground.

Harry felt his eyes tear up as he looked at his damaged ice-cream. He knew it was stupid. It was just ice-cream after all, but still, he was feeling particularly emotional today and felt like crying. Just as he was about to turn around to find Remus, his ice-cream suddenly reappeared on his cone. He looked at it with wide eyes before he noticed someone standing in front of him. As he looked up, he saw a man with long blonde hair, a long blue robe, a cane in one hand and his wand in the other. His wand was pointing at where his ice-cream had previously been lying on the ground.

"T-Thank you," Harry said, looking down at the ground again and feeling a blush creep up onto his cheeks. "It was nothing," the man said, and then stuck out his hand. "Lucius Malfoy," he said. Harry looked up at him cautiously before sticking his hand into the Lucius' and shaking it. "Harry P-Potter," he said. Lucius just smiled. "I know." He released Harry's hand and Harry turned to find Remus and Dudley when he ran into another blonde, this one a great deal shorter, and just barely saved his ice-cream a second time.

Draco Malfoy smirked as Harry Potter ran into him. He had seen what had happened with his father and the ice-cream. He stuck out his hand as well. "It's a pleasure to meet you Harry Potter. I'm Draco Malfoy." Harry awkwardly shook his hand as well. "I assume your getting your Hogwarts supplies as well?" Draco asked. Harry nodded. "Yeah, I'm here with my cousin. He's going to Hogwarts as well," Harry answered, finding the ground interesting once again. Over the two boys heads, Lucius could see a frightened Remus Lupin rush out of a store, followed by another boy. "Lupin!" he yelled out, and smiled as he ran over. "I believe we have something that belongs to you."

Remus ran over and wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders, "Oh Harry, I am so sorry! We should have made sure you were with us. Thank you Lucius," he said, glancing at the blonde man. "It wasn't a problem. Come now Draco, we must finish our shopping. Your mother is expecting us back in half an hour." He turned to leave. Draco shook Harry's hand one last time, "I'll see on the Express then," he said, and then he too departed.

Harry watched them go and waved when Draco turned around again. Remus smiled softly at him. Harry had made his first friend. "Come on," he said quietly, "we still have to get your wands." Seeing that Harry made no move to leave, Remus bent down and lifted him up, a feat that wasn't that difficult since Harry was smaller than most eleven year olds. Harry smiled and laid his head on Remus' shoulder as they began to walk again, suddenly feeling tired. He'd never walked so much in his life, at least not willingly. But, as he watched the two Malfoys turn the corner, he couldn't help but thinking that, all in all, this wasn't such a bad day. Not at all.

A/N: Yeah! I like this chapter. The end parts feel kind of off though, oh well. Sirius' thoughts shal come next chapter! Yeah! Hope you all like it! Please remember to review, and I'll try to reply fairly quickly. Now it's off to write an English paper. Woot.

Poll: Since this story will follow all seven books, I've decided not to make it seven different stories (I had never planned on it). I have decided that each part (each book) will have exactly 20 chapters, even if I have to write an interlude or something like that. 20 chapters times 7 parts equals 140 chapters. That's a lot. So, should I leave it at 140 chapters, which may get kind of hectic, or should I reduce it to 60 and make it two separate stories. I kind of like the 2nd option better, but I want your opinions as well. Tell me what you think!

Next chapter:

Sirius' thoughts on everything that has happened since that fateful Halloween

Harry and Dudley get their wands

The Hogwarts Express

and (maybe)

The Sorting