Many thanks to Conangse and Jesse, for their reviews, and to Joy, for beta reading.

Chapter Seven: Changes

'Harry? Harry, are you all right?'

The child opened an eye. The big, scary dog that had frightened him was gone, and instead a dark haired man was staring at him.

'I… I think so. Where's…where's the dog?'

The man hesitated.

'Don't worry, Harry. The dog is gone.'

Harry suddenly realised two things. First, he was talking to a complete stranger, something that was absolutely forbidden. Secondly, the complete stranger knew his name.

'How do you know who I am?' he demanded. 'I've never seen you in my life.'

The man chuckled. Harry frowned. He saw no reason to laugh. He had escaped from home, had nearly been attacked by a huge dog, and had tripped and fell, hurting his knees. No, he wasn't amused at all.

The man possibly noticed this because he stopped laughing abruptly. He kneeled in front of Harry, so his face was at the same level. Harry noticed he had nice eyes.

'How could I not recognize you, if you're exactly like your dad?'

Harry blinked, shocked. No one had ever told him about his parents before, and the Dursleys had forbidden him to ask questions about them.

'You knew my dad?' he asked, uncertain. The man smiled.

'Yes, I did. We went to school together. James was a very good friend of mine.' There was a trace of sadness in his eyes now. 'In fact, he made me your godfather.'

'Godfather?' Harry repeated. 'I didn't know I had one. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia never mentioned it, but they never talk about my dad and my mum.'

For a moment, the man's eyes flashed with anger and Harry was scared. He took a step backwards, suddenly afraid of this man. What if he was lying? He could even not be his godfather. But then he smiled, and for some reason Harry trusted him. He thought that someone who looked so nice couldn't be a liar.

'Yes, you have one. By the way, my name is Sirius Black.' He shook Harry's tiny hand. 'Now we know each other's names, would you mind telling me what you are doing out so late at night?'

Harry frowned. What if he wanted to take him back to the Dursleys? He didn't want to go back. He didn't think he'd be able to bear it.

'I… I ran away' he said defiantly. 'And I'm not going back.'

There was a frown on Sirius' face.

'Of course you won't, if you don't want to.'

'I don't.'

'But you can't stay in the street either. Hey, I've got an idea. There's a friend of mine who lives nearby – you might know her, she's called Arabella Figg.'

Harry was stunned.

'Does Mrs. Figg have friends? I thought she only liked cats.'

Sirius laughed.

'Well, she likes some people too. What do you say? Will you come with me? I'm sure she'll have something to eat there.'

The tall man offered his hand, and Harry hesitated. He had never been able to trust anyone before.

He looked at Sirius, who was smiling. Harry smiled back, and without a second thought, he took his hand and followed him.

Snape opened his eyes. For a moment, he thought he was at Hogwarts and he felt relieved – then he heard noises coming from the next room and he knew he was at his place in Hogsmeade.

He closed his eyes. For a minute he had believed this whole thing of him taking care of a child had been just a dream, but then harsh reality hit him. He had become a single parent, and he didn't have a clue how that had happened.

Snape was tempted to keep on sleeping – it was very early yet. Connor always woke up at daybreak, and Snape still had a couple of hours until the time he had to go to Hogwarts…

Suddenly, he remembered that Connor would want his breakfast, and he also remembered when the child had tried to fix his breakfast by himself. He had almost set the kitchen – and the whole house – on fire. No, certainly it wasn't a good idea to leave him alone for long.

With a groan, Snape rose from bed and began to get dressed. He wondered if he'd be able to sleep until a reasonable hour ever again. Probably not, at least until Connor went to Hogwarts. Horrified, he realised that would happen in six years. He groaned again.

When he entered the kitchen, he found Connor already waiting for him, fully dressed and looking completely awake. Snape, who had never been a morning person, wondered how he could do that.

'Morning, Severus'. The child said formally. Snape looked at him. Were all children that formal? He remembered, back when he was a child, he had to be very respectful to his father, though later on he had found out that most children weren't.

'Hello, Connor. Did you sleep well?'

It sounded like an innocent question, but the truth was different. He wanted to know whether he kept having those terrible nightmares. Since he had moved in with him, he had had only one and Snape hoped they might have ceased completely.

Connor understood what he had meant and nodded, as Snape started to fix the breakfast. He wasn't a bad cook, but before he had never worried too much about cooking. During school time, the house elves took care of it, and at holidays he'd fix a sandwich or something and that was it. Now, however, he had to prepare more elaborate meals, which had caused some burns to his hands. He was learning, though, and now he had gained enough practice to fix the breakfast in few minutes. After all, cooking wasn't so different from preparing potions. He could handle it.

What he wasn't sure he could handle that well was dealing with Connor himself. Apart from reading him stories, teaching him to read and playing chess with him, he hadn't a clue of what he was supposed to do with him. His own father had never paid him too much attention, he had always been too busy at work, and his mother…well, his mother used to get sick very often, so he used to spend most of the time on his own. However, he didn't feel it was the right thing to do. The problem was, he didn't know what the right thing to do was. And Connor wasn't a lot of help, either. He was very quiet, as he had been taught to never ask for anything, so Snape had to guess what the child wanted or needed. And most of the time he couldn't guess.

No, what he had to do was to ask advice to someone who knew about these matters. The problem was who. Some of his 'friends' had children, like Lucius Malfoy, but he wasn't sure it'd be a good idea to ask him. Lucius came across like the type of person who left his children's education in nannies's and tutors's hands. And Merlin knew he couldn't afford it.

No, he'd have to find someone who knew about children matters, someone who had raised some children of his own. The problem was he didn't know many people like that. He shrugged. He'd think of someone. There had to be someone capable of lending him a hand, right?

There'd better be, because the prospect of taking care of Connor completely on his own had started to get scary, though Snape would admit that to no living soul.

'Albus, I won't send him back to the Dursleys, not against his will.'

The old man sighed. He'd never known someone as stubborn as Sirius Black…well, maybe Severus Snape.

'Sirius, I've already explained to you the reasons why I sent Harry there. I was aware of his family attitude towards magic when I took that decision, and I assure you that I considered every possible option before doing so.'

'But things are different now, Albus.'

Dumbledore closed his eyes. He'd forgotten that sometimes talking to him was like talking to a stone wall.

'Things might be different, but that doesn't mean that Harry is no longer in danger. Many of Voldemort's supporters didn't go to Azkaban, and some of them are just awaiting the right time to make their move.'

Sirius folded his arms, his temper slowly rising.

'And what kind of protection can Privet Drive offer him?'

Dumbledore merely raised an eyebrow, still perfectly calm. He spoke with the same tone he used on overemotional First years.

'You mean apart from all the protection charms I've cast on him, and the people who watch him? Well, being in the Muggle world get Harry less unwanted attention than he would do in the wizarding world, and it makes it easier to protect him.'

'Oh, sure you can protect him from wizards that way… But how do you protect him from the Muggles?' Now Sirius's hands were shaking with anger. 'I've seen the marks, Albus, all over his body… He didn't get those marks because he tripped, and you know that. He can't go back. No way. Over my dead body.'

The young man did have a point. At the time, he'd thought that living with his mother's relatives was the best for Harry, but now time had proved him wrong. However, any alternative options had to be studied very, very carefully.

'Albus' Sirius spoke in a soft, almost shy whisper, 'I could… You know that James and Lily… They chose me to be Harry's legal guardian in case…in case something happened to them.' Now his voice was becoming more confident. 'What I'm trying to say is that now it's not necessary to send Harry back to the Dursleys. I can take care of him now.'

There was a long silence, during which Dumbledore avoided looking Sirius in the eye. His brow was furrowed in concentration and he was staring intently at a point in midair.

He knew Sirius would bring up James' and Lily's last will sooner or later, but he had hoped he'd have a little more time to think it over. It was true that Harry's parents had chosen Sirius to take care of their son in case something happened to them, but that had been several months before their death and things had changed since then.

Now, though, there were a lot of other things to contemplate. And he wasn't sure if Sirius Black was the right man to do so. Although he was a man of many exceptional qualities, being thoughtful and reflective wasn't one of them.

Oh, come on, said a voice in his head. If Severus Snape can take care of a small boy, certainly Sirius will.

Maybe, but Severus was the reflective type. In spite of his many flaws, no one would dare to say he was reckless or impulsive.

But he's not very fond of children. And however, there he is, raising a child who is not his. And he's not doing so badly, is he?

'Sirius, if Harry goes to live with you, you must know there are a lot of matters to contemplate carefully.' The young man nodded, his eyes suddenly much brighter than Dumbledore had seen them in years. 'Given all the attention you're getting, which could prove to be a disaster for Harry, you'll have to keep yourself out of the wizarding world. By that, I'm saying that you should live as a Muggle. Not only that, but you'll probably be unable to keep in touch with most of the magical people you know and you'll have to live anonymously.'

'Albus, after three years in Azkaban, I haven't kept in touch with many people. And I can handle living as aMuggle – I had Muggle Studies at Hogwarts, and I spent many summers at Remus' place, whose mother was a Muggle.'

Dumbledore had to repress a smile.

'I'm afraid you'll need more than that to pose as a Muggle. Besides, taking care of a small child is a lot of responsibility, and you've always been known as being a little reckless…'

'Albus!' The man exclaimed, indignant. 'I'm not sixteen anymore. I'm sure I can handle taking care of Harry.'

'… and you'll have to be specially cautious, or all my safety spells will be useless' Dumbledore kept on saying, ignoring the interruption. 'Do you really think you'll be able to handle it? Please, think about it, Sirius.'

And so he did. He thought about what Dumbledore had said, and in spite of himself he had to admit the old man was right. He had no experience at raising children, he'd have to live as a Muggle, and due to his childhood he knew very little about their lifestyle. And he'd have to be extremely careful with the people who might want to hurt Harry...which was an awfully long list.

He thought also of Lily and James and how they had sacrificed themselves to save their child… He remembered the loving look on Lily's face every time she saw her son, and James' pride at the sight of Harry… They had wanted the best for their son. He couldn't let them down.

'I've thought about it.' He announced. 'And I think I'm more than ready to take care of him.'

Dumbledore nodded. He hadn't expected less.

'In that case, I will talk to the Dursleys to tell them that, from now on, you'll have the custody of James' and Lily's son.'

Mrs. Figg's voice came from upstairs.

'Albus, you might want to come. Harry's awake.'

One of Snape's concerns about Connor was his lack of playmates. Actually, Connor had never talked to a child of his own age. He had seen them at Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade, but he hadn't dared to approach them.

So Snape decided he had to do something about it, and he remembered Lucius' invitation. Glad he had found a solution, he sent an owl to his friend asking whether Connor and he could pay him a visit so Connor and Draco would meet. Snape was aware that Lucius' son was a year younger than Connor, but he thought it wouldn't make a difference. What worried him a little more was that Draco Malfoy had lived his whole life with toys, games and lots of nannies and tutors, while Connor had had little or none of all that. Would it be possible for two boys who came from so different backgrounds to get along?

Lucius answered that he'd be delighted to receive them, but he was a bit busy at the time so he suggested to put off the visit a couple of days. Snape felt a little disappointed, but on the other hand he was quite busy too, and, after all, a couple of days wouldn't make any difference to Connor. In fact, Connor looked quite indifferent about the whole thing. He had never had someone to play with (or any time to play) so it wasn't something that bothered him at all. However, he couldn't help wondering what this Draco boy would be like. Would he like playing chess, or would he prefer those silly games for children? Connor hoped it wouldn't be the latter, or he'd die of boredom.

It was funny how things worked out, though. In spite of Snape's concerns about Connor's lack of company and his efforts to reverse it, in the end it was the boy himself who found that company, in the least likely place of all.

One morning, when they arrived at Mrs. Frobisher's, they found a stranger sitting on the entrance stairs, but it wasn't just any stranger. It was a girl about Connor's own age, with long, brownish plaits and freckles on her nose. She had what looked like a lollipop in her mouth, and she shot a mildly interested look at Connor and Snape, then she returned her attention to the lollipop. Snape looked a little annoyed, as he was already late for work.

'Hello,' he addressed the girl. 'Is Mrs. Frobisher home?'

The girl stared at him indifferently, and gave a tiny nod. Snape shrugged and said goodbye to Connor.

Both children kept staring at each other, neither of them willing to talk first. Finally, the girl put out the lollipop from her mouth long enough to ask, rather sharply:

'Who are you?'

Connor was a little taken aback by her tone of voice, but he hurried to answer:

'My name is Connor, and I always come here in the mornings, so Mrs. Frobisher can take care of me. What's your name?'

The girl didn't answer at once, as though she were considering whether he deserved a reply or not.

'I'm Vicky. Vicky Frobisher. Olga is my aunt. Do you have an aunt?'

Connor thought it was a very weird question, but he had been taught to be polite.

'No, I don't.'

'Uncles? Do you have uncles or cousins? Any brothers or sisters?' Connor shook his head, and the girl looked a bit surprised. 'I have a brother, and loads of cousins and uncles. Do you even have parents?'

The boy shook his head again. Vicky was a little taken aback, then she added. 'You're an orphan' It wasn't a question, so he didn't reply. 'Like Anne of the Green Gables.'

Connor wondered who Anne of the Green Gables was, but he noticed that now Vicky looked a little more interested in him.

'My dad is working, and my mum is visiting a friend,' she explained, 'so my Auntie Olga is taking care of me today. I'm five years old. How old are you?'

'Five, too.'

'Have you ever played Quidditch?'

Connor shook his head, and explained he'd seen children playing it. Vicky nodded.

'My cousins play it all the time, but they say I'm too young to join. I think they're silly. I'm already five, I'm not a little girl any more.'

Before Connor had time to think of an answer, the door opened and Mrs. Frobisher came out. She smiled at Connor.

'Hi there, young man. I see you've already met my niece, Vicky. Why don't you two come inside to play?'

Feeling a little out of place, Connor followed the girl. He still wasn't sure whether he liked her. She seemed too strange to him, but he hadn't met many girls before. Maybe they were all like that.

He wondered if she'd like to play chess with him. It could be funny. Hey, he might be able to beat her and all. Always losing to Severus had begun to get very boring.

Harry didn't know what to think of his godfather. He was the weirdest grown up he'd ever met, and he couldn't think of anyone who could be more different from his Uncle Vernon. Which wasn't something bad at all, of course. But it was very confusing.

First of all, he seemed to have trouble doing common things like turning on the TV or doing the washing up. It was funny, but Harry had to teach him how to use the telephone. He had never met someone who didn't know how to use the phone before. He wondered where Sirius might have grown up. Not in Surrey, certainly. Maybe he was from some place very far away, where people didn't have electricity.

Secondly, he was always making jokes and laughing. Harry, who had spent the last three years of his life with people who had no sense of humor, wasn't used to this but soon he found out he liked it. Also, another weird thing about him, was he didn't mind if Harry asked many questions, especially about his parents. In fact, he looked glad to tell him everything he remembered about them, so Harry learnt more about his parents in the last few weeks he'd spent with Sirius than in his whole life.

On the other hand, Sirius had insisted on buying Harry new clothes and toys, apart from giving him the biggest bedroom in the house. The child, who was used to wearing Dudley's old clothes and sleeping in a cupboard found all these things extraordinary, and he didn't think he deserved them. However, when he had mentioned this Sirius had seemed indignant.

'Of course you do, Harry, as much as any other child! Don't listen to that crap your Uncle told you, ok?'

That was the only one time he saw his godfather angry about something. That was another strange thing about him: he never seemed to get mad, not at him at least.

But the weirdest thing about Sirius Black was that he looked truly happy at having Harry with him, and he didn't consider him a burden like Uncle Vernon had said he was so many times. In fact, Sirius seemed to really like him. It was very strange.

However, even though he found Sirius weird, he enjoyed being with him. It was the first time in his life he felt truly happy.

It was a bittersweet happiness seeing Harry. He reminded Sirius so much of James, though he had Lily's eyes, that it was almost painful. Even his gestures were exactly alike of his old friend's. However, he was much shyer than James and Lily had ever been. Actually, Harry always looked almost frightened to speak, as if he was expecting to be shouted at or something. Sirius clenched his fists. Those Dursleys… Every day that passed he found out more reasons to hate them. The way they had treated Harry…

He tried to calm himself down. There was nothing he could do to change the past, so he'd better forgot about it. All he could do now was to do his best with Harry.

Which was proving to be more difficult than he had first thought. Just in the first morning he almost burnt their breakfast. He wasn't used to cooking without magic. And all the electrical stuff he had to use… It was very different from what he had studied at school.

And sometimes he didn't know how to approach Harry. He was so quiet and reserved, so different from how he had been when he was a child. Also, he realised that he would have some trouble at lecturing him, when he looked so much like his father. Definitely, he had a lot to learn about parenting.

However, now he had a much more mundane problem at hand. It was vital that he got a job soon, which would be quite difficult, as he hadn't any references. I don't even exist in the Muggle world.

Well, no one had said it would be easy, right?

Next to come: Connor finally makes some friends of his own age, as Sirius finds out the hard way some unpleasant things about they way Dudley treated Harry and takes some action...