Sirius had traveled as a dog almost without stopping. He was famished and exhausted. He had been collecting scraps, but they had hardly satisfied. In Diagon Alley, he had found a newspaper dated August 6. He had been free for over a week. Well, not free exactly. On the run. Whatever he was sure was better than being locked up in Azkaban. Once again, he saw his own wasted face blinking slowly from the front page. Suddenly he was whisked back to a conversation he and his friends had during their 6th year.

Sirius stood in front of the dormitory mirror inspecting his hair after Snape had attempted to enchant a pair of scissors to give him a positively hideous haircut. Sirius luckily had gotten away with only a few snips of hair being cut.

"Poor Snivellus. When will he learn that I am always going to be intolerably handsome no matter what he tries to do to me?"

"Intolerably self centered as well." Remus commented.

"You know Padfoot, one day you're going to be old and bald and fat and UGLY!" James told his best friend.

"I will NEVER be bald!" Sirius gasped. "Nor will I be any of those other things." He added quickly.

"Nice comeback Padfoot." Remus snickered.

"Shut up Moony. At least I'm not a werewolf." He pretended to be disgusted.

"At least I never had fleas." Remus shot back.

"Moony, do you wish to wake up with that same haircut that dear Snivelly attempted to give me?" Sirius asked lightly.

"Not particularly."

"Then keep your stupid comments to yourself." Sirius snapped, climbing into bed.

"But really Padfoot, what are you going to do? I mean, you're just going to get uglier as you get older." James said.

"Nonsense! The day the face of Sirius Black fails to qualify as handsome will be the day Miss Evans agrees to marry you!" Sirius laughed as he rolled over to his side. Seconds later, James smacked him in the head with his pillow.

Sirius shook his head. He hadn't thought of that conversation until now. He hadn't even thought it when James told him that he and Lily were engaged. In a funny way, what he said had come true. James and Lily were married and his handsomeness had melted away to a skull. Of course, back when James and Lily had gotten married, he had still looked as he did at Hogwarts, where he was the resident heartbreaker, no contest. He glanced back at the newspaper and let out a whimper. If only he had known…

He decided to continue his journey. He could probably make it to Surrey by dusk. He remembered when he, James, Remus, and the rat had gone and wrapped Lily's sister's house. That had been so much fun. Lily of course had been furious, but it was completely worth it. They usually didn't pull pranks on Muggles, but when James went over to eat dinner with Lily's family, he was shocked by how horribly her sister and her husband treated Lily. Needless to say, Sirius, Remus, and the rat were only too happy to help.

Sirius wondered if they still lived there. Probably. Those stuffy old Muggles were too lazy and boring to even think about moving; at least that's what James had told them. With a start, Sirius remembered that they were the aunt and uncle to whom Hagrid had taken Harry that night. Harry. Sirius would give anything to see his godson. Just once, before he continued trudging to Hogwarts. Of course, Harry would be at Hogwarts as well, but Sirius couldn't allow himself to be seen there. The school board surely would have ordered all sorts of guards and other means of protection on the castle. Too bad dogs weren't allowed in Hogwarts. Then he could have snuck in as a pet. Fortunately, no one knew about the secrets passages from Hogsmeade straight into Hogwarts. Only the rat knew, but Sirius wasn't worried about him revealing himself. Well, Remus knew also, but he wouldn't be there. Sirius felt a small wave of sadness. He would like to see his old friend again. He wondered what Remus was thinking about his escape. He probably wanted to kill him. Sirius didn't blame him after all the horrible things he had put him through.

Hours after sunset, Sirius found himself in Surrey. He wasn't quite sure he remembered where Harry's aunt and uncle lived, so he decided to wander around a bit. He eventually came across a street called Magnolia Crescent. Just when he was ready to give up, a familiar scent made its way to his sensitive canine nose.

Prongs? Stupid, of course it's not Prongs! Prongs is gone…but that is definitely his scent…Harry!

Sirius practically ran up the street. He was getting closer. Finally, Sirius snuck behind the garage of Number 2. He peaked out. There he was…rummaging through his trunk for something. Why wasn't he at home? Sirius knew he had almost a month before he would return to Hogwarts. Sirius ventured out further to where he was standing between the garage and the house.

He looks just like James…

Suddenly, Harry sat up, alert and wary. After an apprehensive moment, Harry looked back down into his trunk, only to stand up seconds later, wand in hand.

Come on Harry…don't hex me! I'm your godfather!

Sirius heard Harry mutter, "Lumos." For a moment, Sirius was blinded by the light. He looked straight into it and saw Harry's silhouette stumble backwards right over his trunk.

BANG!

The Knight Bus! Time to go, Padfoot, old boy. I'm talking to myself…not good.

Sirius ran down the alley. He felt a twinge of guilt, knowing he had frightened Harry. On the other hand, he was happier than he had been in days. Seeing Harry reminded him of the good times before the horrible events of twelve years ago…times Sirius Black positively yearned to relive.