The light was just streaming in through the windows when Harry woke up the next morning. He blearily opened his eyes and found himself in his own bed and wondered how he had gotten there. The last he remembered, he had been downstairs talking with Sirius. Realizing he must have fallen asleep he came to the conclusion that Sirius must have carried him upstairs at some point and put him to bed. The thought wasn't all together a horrible one, but he was a little embarrassed knowing his godfather had picked him up and moved him and he hadn't even been aware of it.
Flinging his legs over the side of the bed, Harry carefully stood up and wasn't at all surprised when he felt his world tilt. Grabbing the side of his bed, Harry let himself slide back down until he didn't feel quite so dizzy. When it seemed as if he could stand back up without falling over, he tried again, managing to make it to the door without flailing his arms out to grab something to hold himself up with.
It seemed that the potions they had given him yesterday didn't last into today. Going for over a week without food couldn't be fixed in just a day, he realized. Magic could only go so far.
Harry had forgotten how weak he got after his Uncle felt the need to starve him for days on end, but this was worse than ever before. He wanted to just go back and lay down on his bed, but more than that, he wanted to see Sirius again. Trudging on, he opened the door and fell right into Ron and Hermione's arms.
"Harry!" they exclaimed, and he knew from their voices that they hadn't been told he was here yet. They'd probably just gotten up themselves. Ron had to wrap his arms around Harry's waist and pull him up because Harry suddenly couldn't stand on his own.
"Harry?" asked Hermione, fright sounding in her voice as she grabbed one of his arms in an effort to assist Ron. "What is going on here?" she asked.
Harry couldn't see her face, but her tone of voice was telling him everything. She was confused and frightened, and he could only imagine what Ron was feeling and thinking, considering he seemed to be at a lack of words and was just doing his best to hold him up. He heard more footsteps coming from down the hall and more voices.
"Is that Harry?"
It was one of the twins voices, he was sure, and suddenly he was lifted into strong arms and his head finally felt like it wasn't about to spin clear off his shoulders. It took a moment of just holding his head still against someone's shoulder, but finally he was able to look up and into the eyes of four very worried friends. He lowered his eyes, suddenly finding someone's shirt very fascinating.
Fred was holding him and Harry felt his face heat up. "You can put me down now," he mumbled, but no one moved. Daring to look at his friends again, he saw deep concern on all of their faces. He wasn't sure what to tell them. In fact, he didn't know if he wanted to tell them anything about what had happened to him. He knew his appearance was a dead giveaway that something had happened over the brief time they had all been away from each other and their reunion just now had been nothing short of a disaster. There was no way he could keep this a secret.
He felt someone pick up his arm and looked up. Hermione was studying his thin limb with a look of utmost loathing on her face. Harry wrenched his arm away and tried to pull out of Fred's arms. He wrongly assumed Hermione thought he was a disgusting freak, something his Uncle had told him numerous times. The look on her face had caused him to believe what the man had been telling him.
He managed to get on his feet, but Fred's arms around his chest easily kept him from moving much further. "Let go of me!" he hissed angrily, but suddenly Hermione had a hold of his face, causing him to flinch instinctively and burrow into Fred instead of fight against him.
"Oh my God," she whispered.
Fred was trying to wrap him in a hug, but Harry was too confused to allow much of anything. "Get off," he said hoarsely, and finally managed to yank himself free. He managed to stand up for all of five seconds before he fell to the floor. He growled weakly in frustration.
A presence stooped down beside him and Harry found himself face to face with Hermione and Ron once more. Hermione's face was void of all the anger she had been feeling earlier, leaving nothing but fear and worry. "What happened to you?" she asked, slowly placing her arm on his shoulder. He allowed the touch and she smiled weakly at him.
Ron looked more concerned than Harry had ever seen him before. "You were with your relatives, right?" he asked suddenly, and Harry flinched. Ron nodded absentmindedly. "I thought maybe you'd been kidnapped by you-know-who," he whispered. "It wasn't him, was it?"
Harry shook his head.
Hermione was holding Harry's arm again, making him look at her and force back a flinch. "You're so tiny," she whispered, looking at his emaciated frame. Harry could tell by looking in her eyes that she knew what had happened. Hermione was brilliant, but it didn't take brilliance to realize what had happened to him. His wasted form told them all what had happened.
"That happens when you're not allowed to eat," he grumbled and winced when he heard everyone gasp.
"What?" asked Ron, his voice gone completely cold. Hermione looked on the verge of tears, but he didn't know if it was out of sadness or outrage.
"Was it your Uncle, then?" asked George.
Harry nodded his head and started to stand up again. Fred wrapped an arm around Harry's waist and pulled him up again. "Shouldn't you be in bed?" he asked.
Harry shrugged. "I didn't feel this bad last night," he mumbled. "I think the potions they gave me yesterday wore off or something."
George was still stuck on the part where Harry's Uncle had apparently starved him half to death. "Wasn't the Order supposed to check on you every three days?" he asked.
Fred, Ron and Hermione all developed looks of confusion. "Yeah, weren't they?"
Shrugging his shoulders as if it didn't matter, Harry told them the second shocking discovery of the day. "They were saving Sirius. It's completely understandable that they forgot about me," he muttered before seeing the looks on their faces. "You didn't know?" he asked, shocked.
"No!" they all chorused. "When did this happen? Is he alive? Is he in the house?"
Harry was still flabbergasted. But, he supposed he and Sirius arrived at Grimmauld Place at the same time, leaving no opportunity for Sirius to be seen by anyone but the ones who were still awake last night. He was just shocked no one had told them about it. Although, he did think it was kind of nice to not be the only one kept in the dark.
"This is so amazing," said Hermione. "Can we see him?" she wondered aloud.
"I don't see why not," he whispered, feeling light headed. "I can show you where his room is," he took one step and started to fall.
"Hold up, Harry. I think we can wait on seeing Sirius until after we've done something for you," said Ron, and he motioned for Fred to pick Harry up once more.
"No!" said Harry, holding out his hand to forestall any picking up of any kind. "I don't need or want to be carried!" he said with as much determination as he could muster. He tried to prove himself by standing on his own, but again, he couldn't manage it. "This is so embarrassing," he muttered.
"Ready now?" asked Fred, preparing to take Harry up in his arms.
"No," muttered the much smaller boy irritably.
Fred picked him up any ways, and sighed. "I can't believe the Dursley's allowed you to get so thin," he said heatedly. "You're so underweight I think even Hermione could pick you up easily."
Harry looked a little indignant at that, but couldn't deny that he probably weighed even less than Hermione did now. That wasn't something he ever thought he would be, not willingly, at least. "I don't think they cared. Uncle Vernon was still so angry about the Order threatening him at the train station."
Hermione shook her head angrily. "So, by trying to protect you, we actually caused you more harm, didn't we?" she asked.
"Well, it wasn't your fault!" said Harry emphatically. "None of you could have known what was going to happen. I thought they'd listen," he said sadly. "But they didn't."
"Did they ever?" asked George offhandedly. "I still can't believe what they've done to you," he muttered as they all walked down the hallway.
A voice stopped them before they ever made it down the stairs. "What's going on?" asked a voice Harry hadn't thought he'd get to hear for a while.
"Remus," he said softly.
"He fell," stated Hermione. She failed to mention just how many times he'd actually fallen, thankfully. It was embarrassing enough as it was to be seen getting carried by his best friend's older brother.
"Harry, are you okay?" he asked, approaching the lot of them on the stairs. He motioned with his hands to Fred that he wanted to take the boy from his arms. "Let me take him," he said, and Harry was transported from one hold to another. As if his indignity couldn't be more destroyed, he practically passed out at the sudden movement.
"Whoa, Harry. Hold on, Severus brought more restorative draughts. Just hang on, Harry," spoke Remus soothingly.
Harry hated being treated like he was some type of porcelain doll, only this time, he felt like he was made out of porcelain and could shatter at any moment. He'd never felt so out of sorts before and didn't like it one bit.
In the kitchen, he heard Sirius' voice for the first time since last night. "Harry!" he called, and he heard a chair scraping against the wooden floor. Lovely, he thought sarcastically, now Sirius is going to flip out as well. But, Sirius stayed surprisingly calm considering who had just carried his godson into the room.
"Here, set him down on the table," he heard someone order, and realized it was Professor Snape. And he had honestly thought his humiliation couldn't get any worse. To have Snape see him again like this, it was beyond embarrassing. This simply had to stop happening.
A vial was pressed to his lips and he quickly emptied it. Anything to stop the horrible feeling of being out of control. Once the potion took effect he shook his head to clear it and slumped backwards onto the thankfully empty table. It would have really been gross if he had fallen backwards onto a table filled with breakfast foods.
Sirius braced his hand onto the table to look down at his godson. "Better?" he asked concernedly.
Harry nodded his head. "Yeah, I am now."
Severus pocketed the vial. "Are you still feeling disoriented?" he asked, watching Harry closely. It was very disconcerting to have Severus Snape looking at him like he actually gave a damn.
"A little dizzy, I guess, but nothing like before. I couldn't even stand up straight earlier."
"Yes, we noticed," said Sirius.
Harry raised a hand and Sirius pulled him upwards until he was sitting up. After a momentary wave of dizziness, his head cleared and he felt fine. "I feel much better now," he told them and slid into a seat.
"Sirius," the whispered voice belonged to Hermione and Harry watched with a small smile on his face as she gave his godfather a hug. "You're alive."
Ron and the twins were next in line, shaking Sirius' hand one after the other. "It's good to see you," they said.
Harry wondered why they kept looking from Sirius to him, but was too interested in watching Sirius to really care. His godfather looked much better now, especially after having a good night's sleep. He'd been worried about him at first, but now that he got a good clear look at him without feeling like he was about to pass out, he could see his health had been restored, at least partially. He looked much better. Harry wondered how long it would take before he started to feel completely better, too.
"So, Harry's going to stay with you now, right?" asked Ron, looking towards Sirius.
Harry looked up from the breakfast Mrs. Weasley had placed in front of him. He hadn't honestly thought about where he would go after all of this. He assumed he'd just stay there at Grimmauld Place. He hadn't thought that Sirius might have his own place to go to. He wouldn't want to take Harry with him though; he'd just be another burden he'd have to deal with now that he had gotten his life back. Harry refused to be a burden to his godfather. He just wouldn't.
"Sweety, you've got to remember that Sirius is still considered a fugitive from the Ministry. For the moment, Harry wouldn't be safe with Sirius being constantly in hiding," Ron looked saddened, and his mother placed a hand on his shoulder. "Everything will work out, don't worry."
"I'm hopeful that eventually I'll be cleared of all charges that were filed against me. But until that time, Harry wouldn't be safe with me," said Sirius, upset at not being able to take his godson home with him. Eventually, he would have his home back and he vowed he would give Harry the life he'd never been given.
Harry stared down at his plate, suddenly feeling extremely heart sick. Deep down he had known Sirius wouldn't be able to take him in. He'd even swore to himself that he wouldn't let his godfather take him in out of some sense of obligation just because he was his godson. But, he had hoped Sirius would want him and would want to take him with him wherever he went, even if he was on the run. He understood that it wasn't safe. He still just wanted someone to just take care of him for once in his life.
"So, where am I going to go?" he finally asked. "I won't go to an orphanage," he stated adamantly. He looked up and found Molly right in front of him. She tried to take his face in her hands, as she was prone to do, but he automatically flinched from the touch. She sighed tiredly and put one hand to her mouth.
"We would never send you to an orphanage, Harry. Never," she spoke so unwaveringly that Harry had no choice but to believe her.
"Then where will I stay?" Harry was stabbing his fork into his plate unconsciously. He didn't even realize he was doing it until Sirius took his small wrist into his large hand.
"Stop, Harry. You know I'd take you if I could, don't you?" he asked, clearly doubtful if Harry did indeed know this fact.
Harry nodded his head. "Yeah, of course," he said, but wouldn't meet Sirius' eyes, even when Sirius placed his fingers under Harry's chin to tip the boy's face up.
"Somehow, I don't think you do," he whispered.
Harry met his eyes then and saw nothing but love coming from his godfather's eyes. "You don't have to, you know. Even when you do get freed, you don't have to. I wouldn't want to stop you from doing whatever it was you had planned to do with your life," said Harry sadly. "I don't want to be a burden to you, too."
Sirius gasped and grabbed Harry's arm without thinking about what he was doing.
"Don't!" yelled Harry, momentarily forgetting where he was, and flung his entire body away from him. His breaths were coming in harsh gasps and he held his hand to his heart to somehow calm himself down. "Sorry…sorry," he muttered, trying to skirt away from the entire group.
He had nearly made it out the door before Remus wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him into a hug. "Calm down, Harry," he whispered, but the boy was still struggling against him. Of course, Harry was no match for Remus, and he eventually gave up, sagging against the older man.
"I want to go upstairs now," stated Harry into Remus' chest, but either no one heard him or they just chose to ignore his request. Harry figured it was the later rather than the former. No one seemed to listen to him lately, any way. The Dursley's ignored him when he had told them he was hungry and thirsty, now he was being denied what he needed once again. Seclusion from everyone else.
"We need to discuss this…flinching away when people move to touch you," stated Molly, and Harry was instantly struggling against Remus once more.
"No. I want to go upstairs," he said fiercely, and nearly succeeded in pulling away, but the man grabbed his arm just when he was about to reach the door and pulled him back. But they didn't realize how desperate they were making Harry feel. As Harry's heart started to pound more fiercely in his chest, Harry became more vicious as he fought. As a last resort, he bit into Remus's arm, not enough to break through skin, but enough to shock the man into letting him go.
Harry thought he was free, but the next thing he knew he was grabbed around the waist, picked up, and was suddenly carried into the next room. He heard the door slam behind him and someone cast a locking and silencing charm on the door. He was shocked to see it wasn't Sirius who had bodily taken him from the others, but Severus Snape.
"What are you doing?" asked Harry, slightly concerned for his own safety. He reached for his wand, only to discover it wasn't there.
"Get a grip, Potter," stated Snape, rolling his eyes heavenward. "I have no intention of harming you."
"I didn't think you were going to hurt me," Harry tried to defend himself, but Snape continued to watch him with a hard stare. "Okay, so maybe it crossed my mind…" he muttered, trailing off.
"Unlike your relatives, I don't take pleasure in the abuse of children," he muttered darkly. Harry was under the distinct impression he was not supposed to have heard that.
"Well, why did you pull me out of there, then?" he asked curiously.
Severus shrugged non-committally. "I thought you were a bit overwhelmed. Black and Lupin were of the same ridiculous opinion that forcing you to talk would be a splendid idea," he spat. "I disagreed."
Harry bristled a bit, but even still felt grateful that the man had pulled him out of what could have potentially turned into a panic attack, for Harry at least. "I don't think they would have forced me," he said out of defense of his godfather and Remus.
"Be that as it may, they were going about the entire situation in the wrong way," he said, and Harry couldn't help but stare.
"There's a right way to this type of thing?" he inquired.
Snape shook his head. "No, I don't believe there is," he muttered, and then looked into Harry's eyes.
Harry ripped his gaze away, worried the man was about to Legilimize him, something he couldn't possibly protect himself against at the moment. He hadn't practiced defending his mind against an attack, for one, and he was in no shape physically, either. He wouldn't be able to put up a fight at all.
Feeling a hand placed gently on his shoulder was what finally made him look up. He hadn't realized it, but he had slammed his eyes shut. Opening them slowly, he looked into Severus Snape's concerned gaze. Never before had he seen that look coming from Snape and directed towards him, Harry Potter. It was almost too strange for words. "Are you quite all right, Potter?" he asked, equally stunning Harry.
"Y-yes," he stammered. "Sorry, I thought for a moment…" he trailed off, but he could tell that Snape had figured out precisely what he had been about to say.
"I had not planned to do that to you, Potter. You're in no condition to withstand that type of attack at the moment, mentally or physically," he stated, confirming Harry's earlier thoughts about his own state.
"Sorry," he repeated, feeling unsure of this entire situation. "Why are you in here with me?" he finally asked.
Snape looked irritated. "I've told you already, Potter. You seemed overwhelmed and in need of a break from those imbeciles."
Harry flinched. "Don't talk about them like that."
"How thoughtless of me," stated Snape in a sardonic tone. "I shall endeavor not to speak of them so lowly again," he said in such a way that Harry knew he was just being hateful.
"You don't have to be mean."
Severus merely shrugged his black clad shoulders and walked towards the fireplace before he grabbed a handful of floo powder. "Once I've gone through, the silencing and locking spells I've put on the door will come down, Potter," he warned before flooing away.
Harry could only stare at the place Snape had been standing as the door behind him was suddenly thrown open and a stampede of angry and concerned people rushed from the room. "Harry, are you all right?" asked Sirius, taking Harry's thin shoulders to turn him away from the fireplace. "Did he hurt you?" he asked, his face so filled with anger that Harry took a step back.
"Of course he didn't," he stated, confused. "Why would he?"
Ron looked flabbergasted. "The great git picked you up and ran out of the room!" he yelled. "We thought he was going to kill you or something!"
"Ron! Don't be so dramatic!" hushed Hermione, while she placed a hand on Harry's arm. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, I'm fine. He was just trying to help me out, actually."
The entire room went silent. "Say what?" asked Fred.
"He saw that I was 'overwhelmed', as he put it, and took me out of the room," he explained to them.
"That was all?" asked Sirius. Harry stood still as the man wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him into a half-hug. It felt really nice to be hugged right then.
"Yes, that was all," he said, leaning his head against his godfather's shoulder.
"And, you're okay?" asked Remus.
"I'm fine, a little tired, but fine," he answered truthfully for once.
"It's still early, but I think a short nap would do you good, Harry," said Mrs. Weasley. Harry saw her arm move and knew she was contemplating touching him in some type of comforting manner, but stopped herself when she caught him looking at her. She smiled sadly at him, and Harry smiled weakly in return.
"I think I will, actually," decided Harry. Ron and Hermione both looked like they wanted to walk him upstairs, probably to talk more about what was going on, but it was Sirius who gently took his arm and led him away. They were both silent as they climbed the stairs but when they reached Harry's bedroom, Sirius finally spoke.
"I would like to talk about what happened with your relatives, Harry," he said slowly, and Harry stopped completely where he stood.
"Why? You pretty much saw what they did. What else do you need to know?" he asked, scuffing his shoe against the wooden floor.
Sirius sighed. "Well, I would like to know why you never told anyone, for starters."
Harry looked up at him and grimaced. "No one ever believed me when I told before, why would they start now?"
"What?" The look on Sirius' face was incredulous. "You mean you told someone and they didn't believe you?"
Opening his door, Harry walked inside his bedroom and went to sit on his bed. He avoided his godfather's eyes at all costs. "It was more along the lines of someone reported them to the Department of Child and Family Services, and they completely ignored what was happening. This man came, a social worker I guess, and did interviews with the entire family," Harry said tiredly, leaning back against his pillows and staring at the ceiling. "The Dursley's lied through their teeth, of course, and I was glared and threatened into silence when they realized who the man was."
"Did this social worker person ask you any questions privately so your relatives couldn't intimidate you?" he asked, having no real knowledge of what a social worker was supposed to do and say in this type of situation. But, he supposed they were a bit like the Ministry when they took abused children from their homes and the same type of investigation would occur as with the Ministry. The children were always taken away from the possible threat to ensure they weren't being intimidated into keeping quiet about the situation.
"No, it was almost like a group interview. I couldn't tell the man what was going on with the Dursley's sitting there looking ready to flay me alive if I so much as looked at the guy wrong. So I kept quiet, but the man had to have known. He asked to see my room and Uncle Vernon showed him the guest bedroom where Aunt Marge usually stayed when she visited. That doesn't even look like a kid's room, let alone like it had been lived in for a few months. He didn't do anything about it, and I got punished after he left. They thought I had called or something, or used my 'freaky' powers to get someone's attention," he said, rolling over onto his side as he gazed sadly at his godfather, but still wouldn't meet the man's eyes. "I think my Uncle might have paid the guy off, looking back. They had been whispering to each other before the interview really began, and the social worker kept looking at me like I was the enemy, not the Dursley's."
Sirius was outraged. "How old were you?" he wondered.
Harry looked thoughtful for a moment, and Sirius knew he was doing the math in his head. "About eight, I think."
"Eight…so I take it this type of behavior from the Dursley's has been going on for a while?" he asked quietly.
Harry just nodded his head but remained silent.
Sirius sighed once more and gently ran his fingers through Harry's hair, massaging the boy's scalp until Harry's eyes began to drift closed. He continued the massage until he was certain his godson was completely asleep then bent down and placed a light kiss on his forehead. Gazing at his godson sadly, he wished for about the hundredth time that he hadn't gone after Peter. He wished he had stayed with Harry and kept him safe. If he had, none of this would have happened. Harry could have had a childhood if he had just stayed.
………………………….
A mere thirty minutes was all the rest Harry received before the nightmares began.
In his dreams, everything seemed so real. "No, Uncle," he muttered, unconsciously trying to move his wrist away from his invisible assailant. If he was restrained, he wouldn't be able to see Sirius again. He wasn't sure why he thought this, but he knew he had to get away from his deranged family. "Sirius," he moaned.
Black stood up from his seat beside Harry's bed, instantly aware that something was wrong. Reaching forward, he grabbed Harry's hand and tried to soothe the boy. "Come on kid, everything is all right. Wake up," he implored with his now thrashing godson. "Harry, you're okay, wake up!"
Only, holding onto Harry's hand wasn't helping at all, it was doing the opposite, in fact. A whimper escaped from Harry's lips as he tried futilely to get free. "No, no, no, don't," he cried, moaning in his distress. "Siri, please, Sirius," he begged. "Don't let him…I can't…don't let him tie me down! Sirius!"
"Harry, baby, I'm right here," his heart was clenching at his godson's cries. It was killing him that the poor child wouldn't or couldn't wake up. He berated himself for making Harry talk about his past directly before he had fallen asleep. Look where it had gotten them. Considering everything he had tried hadn't worked, he grabbed Harry's arms and pulled him upright and onto his chest. He wrapped his arms around his godson and rocked him back and forth, rubbing his back in circles. "It's okay, kiddo. I'm right here," he said.
Shockingly, it was holding Harry in such a way that finally calmed him down. Sirius hadn't been sure how he would react to being grabbed and held in place, but it seemed Harry had needed the security he had offered by holding him.
Harry's eyes slowly opened and he blearily looked up into his godfather's face. "Sirius?" he asked, not entirely aware of what was going on. All he knew was that he felt safe and secure.
"Are you all right now?" inquired Sirius, running his fingers through the boy's hair again.
It finally dawned on Harry that he had had a nightmare, which was why Sirius was holding him so snuggly in his arms right now. It was such a nice sensation that he didn't pull away as soon as he discovered what was happening. This was the type of thing he'd always dreamed of happening when he had been younger. Having a bad dream and being able to have someone who actually cared about him to help him through it. He'd never had this before, and he didn't want to let it go just yet.
"I'm better now," he whispered, but tightened his hold on his godfather's shirt-front just the same.
Sirius pulled him closer, as if sensing Harry's need to be close. "It's okay now," he said quietly. "Would you like to talk about your dream?" he asked after a moment of peaceful quietness.
"It was just the usual," he said tiredly, still needing more rest but not daring to go back to sleep after what had just happened.
"I think you were dreaming of the time right before Snape and Remus came to rescue you," he said, just throwing out guesses, but he was fairly certain he was right. He felt the boy nod against his shoulder but no further words were spoken. "I'm here for you now, you know that, right?"
Harry nodded again, but Sirius could feel wetness seeping through to his shoulder. "Harry, what's wrong?"
"How can you be here for me when you can't even keep me?" he mumbled into his godfather's shoulder. "I'm going to have to go back to the Dursley's, aren't I?" he asked, sobbing now.
"What?" Sirius was stunned, where was this coming from? How could Harry even think they would allow him back with those horrible excuses for a family? "Harry, no. There is no way we would let you go back there."
"Are you sure? I mean, where am I going to stay? I can't stay here forever," he asked, gasping in a lungful of air.
"You're going to stay here until I'm set free, then you're going to come stay with me," explained Sirius. "My grandmother on my father's side, she lived not too far from where Ron lives, actually. We'll move in there once we get things figured out, I promise. But you are not, under any circumstances, going back with the Dursley's. I'd rather die than allow that."
Harry finally pried himself away from his own death grip on Sirius' clothes. "Are you serious?"
"Yes."
"But, it could be years before you're set free," he started hesitantly. "What if you don't want me after you've been set free? I mean, you could change your mind, and I would completely understand," he said sadly. "I know I can be a hassle to take care of."
Sirius shook his head. "You are no such thing, and I will never change my mind. I have every intention of keeping you with me for as long as I can possibly keep you. Even when you're married I'll have a hard time letting you go. You and your wife might have to move in with me," he said, smiling at his godson's tear streaked face.
"I don't think that's going to happen for a long time," he whispered, trying to give his godfather a smile as well, but the tears still pouring down his face sort of detracted from it. "If at all."
"I won't let anything happen to you, Harry. Never again will I leave you to someone else to take care of, I promise you that," he said determinedly. "I love you so much, Harry."
As Sirius held the boy he considered his son in his arms, he knew he had to do something if he wanted Harry in his home with him, where he would be safe. Something had to be done.
"I love you, too." Harry wrapped his arms strongly around Sirius' neck. He'd never been told that before, not by a parental figure at least. It was the one thing that made him believe in the man's words. He'd never be left alone again.
………………………..
A/N: Thank you all for reading and please review! Only one chapter to go!
By the way, HpAzn/xxabyss is writing an alternate ending to SIB III if you are all interested. It is posted on my Shadowarwen Yahoo Group Page and she has also posted it here on her profile page at: http/ a look at it and tell her what you think about it.
