Chapter 2: What Now?

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Sirius and Harry landed on an island near South America. It was owned by the Blacks, but there was no record of it. The family didn't want anyone to know they had a non-magical place that a few had utilized for muggle purposes. The Black family had a dark past, that was never in question. However, there were a few that had done business with muggles. That was until the Statute of Secrecies. They knew the Malfoys had done the same, but the Blacks hid it better.

It had taken only once to almost be caught by the ministry that they stopped all contact with the muggles. The punishment wasn't worth the gains, which was worse than getting copped for murder. If you were caught breaking the Statute, then your magic was bound, and you were exiled. No one wanted to lose their magic for a bunch of muggles. No matter what the profit.

It was too bad because the black market and drug trafficking was a lucrative business. They had still dealt with the wizarding black market, but the muggle drugs didn't work on wizards. They lost a lot of revenue over this and weren't happy about it.

They never got rid of the island as a reminder to not do such again. It was like an albatross on their neck. They told the story to all their children, like the monster under the bed. Sirius had loved the thought that there was somewhere he could run, so he made sure to get the coordinates. As sneaky as he had been as a child, it had been easy to get them from his father's study. He hadn't run here when he ran away, but he did leave it open as an option if the Potters hadn't taken him in.

They had even kept it up to date so that the locals didn't get suspicious. They wanted to have a place to run to if ever needed. Not that the Blacks would ever come here willingly, but it was there if needed.

"Well, here we are," Sirius said, putting his hand on Harry's shoulder to steady him. He felt bad for the kid, having to leave Hogwarts in the middle of his education. It would be hard on the teen. However, Sirius was here to help as much as he could. That was part of the plan. They certainly weren't hurting for money. They could get anything they needed.

"Yeah," the melancholy teen said, thinking of the big step he had just taken. Could he really abandon his friends? Would they hate him for never getting back in touch with them? He and Sirius had discussed it, even a letter letting them know he was okay was out. Unless there was a way to deliver it without using an owl. Perhaps Dobby or Winky? He'd have to think about it. If he did write, could that be used against them? He didn't know.

"We'll be alright," his godfather said, leading him to the house that was on the beach. It was manned by non-magical servants, who had been taking care of it for years. They were paid to keep it up, but they never met their bosses. Sirius was sure they were going to be shocked when he and Harry appeared.

He had sent them a letter letting them know that a Black was coming to stay. He was going to come whether Harry had been chosen or not. Now, it was just another body to add. He was sure his servants wouldn't mind.

He did wonder what they would do now that they had Dobby and Winky. The house elves could keep the whole house clean without the help. So, should he let the servants go? Could he really put people out of a job? It might be safer if he did. He was a wanted man after all. Maybe not as wanted here, but did he want to take the chance?

"Sirius," Harry said, looking around the island, but not seeing the beauty of it yet, "did I do the right thing?" he expressed his doubts. "It is a big step," he added, making sure that his godfather knew just how overwhelmed he was feeling.

"I think you did. And I'm not just saying that because I want you here, which I do. I truly believe that you will never be free from danger if you stayed. Even if the danger passed, you would be hounded the rest of your life, like Dumbledore. No, we can never go back to Britain. We're too far from England for our names to be as famous, or infamous, as they are there. However, I'm sure they have heard of us," the older man said, still guiding the teen to the house.

The afternoon sun was lighting their way, and there was a nice path in a luscious garden on either side. There were tiki lights that were also unlit on the path. They walked down the path, one with sure steps, the other dragging theirs.

"Are we to live in true exile?" Harry asked, looking at his godfather's face to see his emotions about all this.

"No, we'll magic our names into the muggle system, somehow, and live as muggles. I'll got by Sirius Jones, and you can be my nephew, or son, your choice. We'll call you Tommy," the man said, going to the door and opening it.

"No, not Tommy. That's Voldemort's name," Harry said, thinking of what kind of name he could choose. It got his mind off the huge steps he was taking to be free from the British magicals.

He stood in the doorway and finally looked around and liked what he saw. The island was lovely, especially in the afternoon light. The palm trees and other brush were lush and green. The sounds of the birds and insects was relaxing. There wasn't any large game on the island, only snakes and lizards. Harry could hear them in the foliage. It was also much brighter and more humid here, even as evening approached. The sound to the waves was also helping him let go of his tension. He could get used to this peaceful place.

"How about Gary? It's close to Harry," was the suggestion.

"That works, but why do you get to keep your first name? It's not a common name, someone might recognize you with it," Harry wanted to know.

He looked at the entrance hall of the house. It was quaint. Not overly ostentatious. A bit more gold than he would ever be used to, but still clean and well appointed. It was surprising since it was owned by the Blacks, but maybe they wanted to understate their wealth to the muggles. Alas they would never know, unless there was a diary hanging about.

The house itself was large, at least twelve bedrooms, with a ballroom, two or more receiving rooms, living rooms, who knows how many dining rooms and other such sundries. Harry wasn't sure, but it was big. At least it was tastefully decorated, not tacky. Mostly white with streaks of gold with shots of silver.

"I'm well in my thirties, I don't think I can answer to anything else, except Padfoot, and that's not a human name," Sirius explained, as they waited for someone to come by. Surely, someone heard them come in. It wasn't like they were silent. They had nothing to hide. Especially from servants. Well, magic, but that was an easy feat.

"Oh," Harry said, sitting on one of the chairs littering the hall. "What about trying Siri? That's close enough. And it doesn't sound British," he said, not liking that Sirius was doing something that could get him caught. There were times he thought his godfather hadn't grown at all in Azkaban. He knew that horrible prison had done a number on the man's mind. Perhaps, he would do better now that they were here.

"You're right, I'll do that," his godfather stated, going over it in his head. It was better than going by his full name, and Lily had called him that in school. Yeah, it was doable. Sirius dropped into the seat next to his godson.

"Actually, it's kinda stupid to take up new names. You already told them that a Black was coming. We'll just have to let the locals know we're here," Harry said, his mind was going a million miles a minute. "That and they won't look for us in the muggle world, especially wherever we are."

"You're right, I'll think more on it today. I might see about getting a trial here," Sirius said, going over the ramifications of that.

"Where are we?" Harry finally asked, not sure what part of the world they had landed.

"South America," his godfather answered with a shrug that said that was all he knew.

"That's an awful big place, can you be more specific?" Harry teased, trying to get over his overwhelmed feeling.

"Around Peru or Chile?" was the comeback.

"That's not much better," the teen grumbled, remembering his geography.

They were a sight to see, sitting in a richly appointed hall dressed in rags, in Sirius's case, or a rumpled school uniform in Harry's. At least Sirius knew the staff kept the place clean.

"So, what now? Continue the plan?" Harry asked, looking around the room at all the marble statues of people he didn't know, and nonmoving portraits of the same. He knew that magic wasn't used here, but after three years and some months of Hogwarts, it was strange to see. He did wonder if that was going to change now that they were taking up residence.

"Yes, we'll train you up here. If we need help, we'll hire tutors," Sirius said, thinking hard on what they could do, or what was happening to them right now. "We'll have to wait a bit on that. I don't want anyone knowing you're here. So, we'll have to come up with a way to hide that scar. Maybe muggle make-up. Lily said that make-up can hide any blemish," he added as an explanation.

"That's nice to know about Mum," Harry said, thinking nostalgic for a moment. He missed the parents he never knew.

"I'll tell you more stories about them," Sirius promised, knowing how much Harry craved the bits of information that he was given. He knew from the stories that the kid had told him, no one talked about them, or if they did it was in abstract.

"What about Professor Lupin as a tutor?" Harry asked, leaning forward a bit. He liked the man but could see that there was tension on Sirius's face. "We'll see about the make-up," he added with some distraction.

"I asked him, and he called me crazy. He wanted me to go to Dumbledore," Sirius said, waving his hand in agitation. "I tried to get him to see it my way, but he's too far up Dumbles arse," he added, standing, and starting to pace. He always knew that one day it would come down to the headmaster or him, but it was still a hard potion to swallow.

"Oh," was all Harry said, thinking that someone like that didn't need to be here. Still, he could see it hurt Sirius. "Well, bugger him," he stated firmly, getting up and standing in front of his godfather to make him stop pacing. "We don't need any traitors around."

"Yeah, bugger him," the dogman said, smiling down at his godson. Harry was the most important person in his life right now, and no one, not even Moony, was going to change that. He was still miffed with the werewolf's lack of communication with both of them during the last thirteen years. While he understood, not contacting him, he couldn't forgive not contacting Harry.

"So, muggle? Do you think you can handle that?" Harry asked, walking towards what he hoped was a kitchen. Sirius was supposed to asked to have the pantry stocked, and Harry wanted to see what was there. They were in a different country after all. "Is the kitchen this way?" he asked, still going straight.

They still hadn't seen any staff. Maybe they came in later. Sirius didn't tell them when he was coming only that he would be here soon. Still there should have been at least a butler about this early. Did he even have a butler? Maybe there were only cleaning staff and gardeners.

"Yeah, I think so," Sirius confirmed. "What about you? Can you go muggle?" he asked, following the boy to the kitchen.

"I was raised muggle," Harry pointed out, opening the refrigerator. It was fully stocked, with familiar and unfamiliar things. So, he grabbed stuff for sandwiches. "I don't think I'll lose my magic, because I didn't go with the other champions," he added, grabbing some bread from the breadbox. "Which means I didn't agree to participate." He really hoped that was true, but he could live with it if it wasn't.

"I don't either, but we should look out for it, just in case," the dogman said, watching Harry move around the kitchen like a pro. It broke his heart a bit to know why the boy was so comfortable making dinner. At least this time he got to eat what he prepared. "Do you know when the first task is?" he asked, not sure of what Harry knew about the tournament.

"No, I left before they said anything," Harry said, spreading out his ingredients. "Do you want mayo or mustard?" the teen asked, not concerned in the least that he might lose his magic. He'd get along just fine without it. It would be like missing a body part, but people lived fulfilling lives with missing pieces all the time. He'd just have to readapt to doing it the hard way.

"Mayo, that mustard is too brown," Sirius said, getting up to get some fizzy drinks from the fridge. He never had them, but he wanted to try some.

Even if Harry did lose his magic, he was going to stick close to his godson. They already cleared their accounts, so no one could seize his money for not having magic. Sirius wouldn't put it past the government in doing just that. Crooked, greedy politicians.

"What do you think the goblins are going to do, now that we're gone?" Harry wondered out loud.

"They might rebel," Sirius said in a joking manner. "Truthfully, I don't know. They could up the fees, fine the government. I am unsure how much power they have," he added when Harry didn't laugh.

"I hope they fine them hard," was all the teen said as he turned back to his ham sandwich.

They ate in silence, each thinking different things. Harry was trying to come to grips that he had actually run away. It wasn't like him. He usually was one to face down danger. However, he was tired of always fighting, either at school or at the Dursleys. It seemed all he did was fight. And if he thought about it, only a few of those fights were even his. The stone wasn't his fight, neither was the basilisk. Sirius might have been considered his, but that was debatable. He was a kid for Merlin's sake. He knew the Dursleys' and Snape's hatred was not his fault either. That was just them being petty. All of them.

Sirius was thinking of ways he could be free. He could request sanctuary from the country near the island. Peru? Chile? If he did that, then Britain couldn't come and arrest him. He might get acquitted, or at least amnesty. It depends on if they believe him or not.

Or he could just stay hidden here on the island as a muggle. Then it wouldn't matter what name he and Harry went by. Like Harry said, no one would look for them here. It would be a piece of cake to add them to the muggle system. All he had to do was magic up some papers.

He wasn't sure which would be better. If he asked for protection, then they would have to tell the British Ministry that he was here. Wouldn't they? If he hid, then they had cause to haul him in. He was going to have to sleep on it.

"I'm going to call the elves, then find a room and crash. Or visa-versa. It's the middle of the night for me," Harry said, putting his plate in the sink to either wash later, or have the elves do it.

"Alright, I'm going to look around a bit, and see where the staff is," Sirius said, putting his plate on top of Harry's.

"Goodnight, Sirius," the teen said, going up the stairs from the entryway. "Or good afternoon, whatever," he mumbled as he walked.

"Sleep well," the man said as he watched the emotionally drained teen trudge up the stairs. He could only tell himself that they'd be okay. He really hoped that was true.

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"Dobby, Winky," Harry called when he found a room with a bed. It was a well-appointed guest room, that had a king-sized bed, an elaborate dresser, and a wardrobe. All done up in shades of green and grey.

"What can Dobby be doing for Harry Potter, sir?" the excitable elf asked, bouncing on his feet in front of the teen. He was still wearing all the knitting, and Harry wondered what would happen to it now that the elf wasn't there. Harry knew that no elf would be freed by Hermione's efforts, but would they just throw it all away.

"Yes, Master Harry?" was the more subdued response from Winky.

"Sirius tells me there are human staff here, so for now, just tidy up when they are not around. We're a couple of bachelors, so there will be plenty of messes," Harry said, sitting on the bed and removing his shoes and dropping them on the floor to prove his point.

"Wes will not bes seen," Dobby promised, knowing it was the number one priority. He snapped his fingers, and the shoes went under the bed in an orderly fashion.

"Yes, Master Harry," Winky said, shyly.

"Winky, don't call me master," Harry ordered, though in a soft voice. "I hate the term. If you must call me sir," he added, thinking that his childhood was akin to slavery, and he didn't condone such. If the bond was not necessary, then he would have left these two to their lives. But they had all but begged to be bonded.

"Yes, sir," she said quickly, not wanting to offend him.

"Dobby, did you get everything of mine from the Dursleys?" Harry asked, taking off his socks and dropping them too.

"Yes, Harry Potter, sir," the too excited elf said, looking shifty.

"What else did you take?" the teen asked, knowing Dobby was liberal with loopholes.

"They is being needing to diet anyway," was the vague answer, the elf's eyes still going from side to side.

"You took their food?" Harry asked gleefully. He reached down and hugged the elf.

"They is not being needing it," the elf said, smiling now that he wasn't in trouble.

"Well, I'm not sure if I should tell you not to do that again, or to do it once a month," Harry said with a giggle.

"Dobby best not," Dobby said seriously, "I is not wanting to bes caught," he added with a nod of his head.

"Okay, I can see that. Now, if you two want something to do, my trunk can be unpacked in this room. I don't think it matters where I sleep, and this is just as good as any." Harry said, pulling off his uniform and grabbing some sleep clothes. There was an ensuite and he was going to make use of it.

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