Cornelius Fudge was done for. No matter how he looked at it he knew that his political career would be over at the end of this term. When he had been first elected he was chosen because he was the safe option. Before him, Bagnold had levied a crusade through the wizarding world trying to root out any wizard or witch that had supported He Who Must Not be Named. Under her rule, the department of magical law enforcement had been empowered to run a full-scale witch hunt, literally. Eventually, when people believed that they had finally cleaned house, she retired and he had been put in charge. The papers described him as humble, stable, a symbol of peace restored. The quibbler had even used the phrase,

"He's boring, but after all the excitement I think we could use that."

Now though, everything was going to hell in a handbasket because one little fact had thrown the whole wizarding world into chaos.

Harry Potter was a squib.

Part of the reason Fudge's approval rates had been so high, was because much of the wizarding world was waiting for the immortal, all-powerful, second coming of Merlin, who was Harry Potter to show up and lead the nation into a new age of prosperity. Now that was impossible. How could someone incapable of using magic be able to lead wizards? Who would protect them from the rise of the next dark lord, because let's face it, in the wizarding world there would always be a next dark lord? Harry Potter was a symbol of hope for the future and now that symbol had betrayed the people and they all wanted to take it out on Cornelius Fudge. He sat in his office despondent as he looked at the latest headline of the Daily Prophet.

WIZARDING WORLD IN CHAOS: MINISTRY SILENT!

By Rita Skeeter

He grimaced. Rita Skeeter could be useful if used properly but when she was left to her own devices she would write whatever caught the attention of the masses most. It's not like the Ministry was being silent maliciously. Honestly for his part Fudge was just lost on how to handle the situation. Being a squib was always a possibility in a wizard family.

Cornelius had researched it and found that in pureblood families 1 in 20 children was born a squib. The probability just seemed lower because of how few children most pureblood families had. When looking into the causes for squibhood none of the materials Fudge found gave consistent information. Some said that being born a squib was just the opposite of being muggle-born. In one, non-magical children came from magical parents and in the other, the reverse. Other studies seemed to theorize that being a squib was different from being muggle and they cited obscure studies that reported odd magical readings from the squibs they studied. In the end, however, all findings were inconclusive due to a lack of research subjects and funding. Wizards and witches up to this point didn't want to know more about squibs, they were a disgrace to most pureblood families and mixed families just assumed they were muggles like one of the parents.

With a sigh, Fudge put down his paper and began to rub the bridge of his nose hoping to ease the headache he was feeling. As he collected himself, there came a knock on his door. He thought about ignoring it but decided that it would be irresponsible to do as the Minister of Magic.

"Enter," He said, magic making his call perfectly audible to whoever was waiting on the other side of the thick oak door.

Moments later a squat woman in bright pink robes entered. Cornelius frowned a bit trying to remember her name, um-something he thought it was. Unable to place he merely said,

"Yes?" leaving the rest of the conversation to her.

"Thank you for seeing me Minister Fudge, sir," the woman said with a simper, "My name is Delores Umbridge, I am one of your undersecretaries, sir."

"I am aware," the minister said, stretching the truth slightly. His staff had honestly grown to the point where he wasn't aware of everyone that worked under him personally.

"Of course," Umbridge said, "sir, I am sorry for overstepping my bounds by approaching you without the senior undersecretary's approval, but I had some thoughts about the current situation that I wanted to present to you directly."

Fudge frowned slightly at the breach in the protocol but he admired the woman's ambition enough to hear her out, plus he was so lost that honestly, he would grasp at any lifeline that would help him survive the current storm.

"While it is slightly precocious," Fudge said, "I can't fault someone wanting to go above and beyond the call of duty. I can spare a few minutes, please speak your mind."

The woman's eyes flashed slightly with triumph though she hid it quickly.

"Well sir," she said, "I think that you should see the current events as a great opportunity. It never sat right with me how the wizarding world viewed..." she paused and her smile slipped slightly, "that boy."

"Who?" Fudge asked, not quite following.

"Harry Potter, sir," The woman clarified, "why he was but a babe when You-Know-Who's reign came to an end, but the people all treated it like Harry Potter fought a heroic battle against one of the strongest wizards in history. No one even knows how he managed to survive that dreadful curse. Of course, now that we know the boy is a squib, maybe it wasn't the killing curse at all maybe the dark lord was using some other form of magic that backfired accidentally and stole the boy's magic as a consequence."

Fudge raised an eyebrow in puzzlement. This woman seemed to have interesting ways of viewing the situation but he wasn't sure about the theories she was spouting.

"I'm sorry, sir," Umbridge suddenly backtracked, "I got off on a tangent. My point is that rather than relying on pseudo-mythological figures for security like Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore, shouldn't they be looking to people like you. The people who have been chosen by the will of the people. You should make a statement telling the world that, even though it may be sad, the boy they all had great hopes for is no more. But they can rest assured that the Ministry will always be here to guide and protect them. The boy may have helped get rid of You-Know-Who but it was the ministry that did all the hard work of finding and imprisoning his followers after all."

Fudge pondered on the idea, as he did he glanced and saw the headline again. Maybe the Ministry had been silent too long. Looking up at the woman he nodded then grabbed his wand and cast a Patronus.

"Inglewood, reschedule my morning appointments and contact the Prophet. I will be giving them a statement this afternoon."

His message recorded, Fudge sent out the silvery apparition to contact the undersecretary in charge of his appointment book. Putting his wand away he then pulled out parchment and quill.

"Well Umbridge, take a seat we have a statement to write and I like some of the things you said."

Umbridge's smile widened to match the cat that ate the canary.

"Of course, sir,"

Harry once again had mixed feelings as he stood in front of the school. At the beginning of the year, he had been nervous at the uncertainty of what the school held but excited to be free of his oppressive family. Now, he was sad that his friends would all be leaving for the Summer holiday but filled with joy that he would be allowed to stay at Stonewall for the majority of it. He smiled as he remembered getting the good news.

He had been called in to see the headmaster the day after their first talk about his home life. He was still somewhat nervous about the uncertainty surrounding his status as a student of the school, but he was trusting that the headmaster would keep his promise about not endangering his ability to return next year.

"Mr Potter, thank you for coming so quickly," the headmaster began, "I wanted to speak to you more about what we started discussing yesterday. I want you to know that I have done everything in my power to not break the promise made to you, and I may have found a means to lighten the load of your situation."

Harry just watched the headmaster as he spoke, not daring to be optimistic that the man would have found some way to help him. As much as he respected and looked up to the headmaster the Dursleys had a nightmarish grip on him, keeping him from fully believing that he would ever be truly free of them.

"We have programs in place that allow us to offer additional education to students, be it behavioural or academic." Jacobs explained, "To offer this additional education we would keep the students on campus for the majority of the summer holidays. I spoke to your aunt about these programs and, as far as I can tell, she seemed to show interest, though she did say she would need to talk with your uncle before a decision could be made. Before I make the final offer however I want to check with you. I know that you are worried that trying something may lead to you losing your place here, so I won't move forward if you don't approve."

Harry was shocked by what the headmaster was saying. He may have the chance to stay here at stonewall longer and not be forced to go back to that place. It was like a dream come true, he would be free. As joy began to creep in at the thought, however, he began to feel the dark helpless feeling come back. Doubt filled his chest, and he began to wonder what would happen if it didn't work. Would his uncle be offended by the offer? He was a very suspicious man who questioned anything that seemed too good to him. Would he refuse to leave Harry in Stonewall, thinking that the school was just trying to get more money off of him?

With all of the doubt bouncing in his head Harry opened his mouth to say he didn't want to risk it but he choked on the words. A single thought drifted to the surface of the mind,

"Are you being honest?"

Like a light vanquishing shadow, that question pushed back the darkness clouding his thoughts. If Harry was being honest then he did want to risk it. He had lived every year of his life suffering under the torment of his relatives and now, here was a man offering him safety and protection. In his mind's eye, the image of the Dursley's took the form of a dark beast reaching out for him but their efforts were stymied by the appearance of a shining figure in brilliant armour. The figure wore the face of Headmaster Jacobs and around him the walls of Stonewall rose, offering a place of safety and peace.

"Yes," Harry finally said, "please, even if the chances are slim I want to stay here."

Seeing the desperation in the boy's eyes the Headmasters resolve steeled.

"Very well Mr Potter, leave everything to me."

With that final declaration, Harry was dismissed from the office. Two days later, he got the news that his relatives had accepted the proposal. Harry would be staying at Stonewall through July and the first half of August where he would then be sent back for two weeks before returning at the start of his second year. When he had told his friends Liam and Travis had been puzzled at first.

"Why would you be stuck here? You have the best grades out of all of us," Travis had asked,

Harry had then taken the opportunity to briefly explain his home life. Liam and Travis didn't know as much as Nish, but they knew enough that after his explanation they both congratulated him and wished him well over the summer. Now the four friends all stood in front of the main school building bidding each other farewell and making promises about the year to come.

"You know," Nish said, "I am still a little upset that I won't get the chance to smuggle you into my house. I am sure that my Mom would love you if you got to meet her, and you haven't lived until you have tried her tikka masala."

"Maybe next year," Harry said back, smiling.

The four friends all shared bittersweet moments of farewell as the three that were leaving got on their busses. Liam's arrived first and he left with a final reminder for each of the boys to find dice. Nish was next, leaving with his typical over the top airs begging them not to miss him too much. Finally, Travis's bus pulled up and the larger boy clapped Harry on the shoulder.

"You know, when we first met I almost socked you in the mouth because I thought you were bullying Liam. I am really glad I was wrong." Even though the boy's words were simple he said them with such warmth that Harry was touched by this admittance.

"I am really glad I got to meet you, Travis, you are a great friend." Their simple farewells given, Travis got on the bus and then Harry was alone.

Harry was saddened to lose his friends, but he knew that when summer break ended, they would all come back to this place that Harry was rapidly coming to consider as his true home.

Harry woke with the sun and smiled as he stretched to work out the stiffness in his shoulders. Getting up from his bunk he put on some shorts and a shirt and made his way outside the dorm building. As he walked out into the morning air he looked up and could see the form of Mr Atkins approaching.

"Potter," The man said as he approached, "You going to try and keep up this time?"

"Yes, sir" Harry responded.

The teacher nodded then began running, Harry did his best but he was soon lagging behind the fit man, his shorter legs slowing him down. Harry was a little upset at his poor performance but just kept running as Mr Atkins had told him.

"You are growing," the man had said, "don't get discouraged because you haven't reached your goals yet, just keep trying and eventually you will get there. Be diligent."

Harry's habit of trying to run with Mr Atkins in the mornings had started about halfway through the first week of his summer at Stonewall. Harry had still been getting up at an early hour and he had been surprised to still see Mr Atkins here. Many of the teachers had left the campus for a vacation like the students had but a small group of teachers stayed on to work with the boys who were here for additional education. They included Mr Atkins, Mr Thomas, and even Mr, Charles, the man who had hosted the boy's D&D group in his room. Harry had also taken note that Headmaster Jacobs and Mrs Banks kept their regular office hours.

Eventually, Harry had nervously approached Mr Atkins about possibly imitating his habit. He had originally just gone to ask for some pointers but the man had looked at him and said,

"I thought I saw you outside the dorm this morning. I could use a running buddy if you're up for it."

Harry had agreed and waited on the steps of the dormitory the next morning. What he hadn't fully appreciated was the man's dedication to physical fitness. He had told Harry to follow him and had then taken off in a lap around the perimeter of campus. Harry had not been able to keep up and when the man had lapped him he then slowed down to Harry's pace and would give pointers on how Harry could improve his form.

"Work on a good form and speed will come," The man had explained, "Your foundation needs to be strong before you can build anything on it."

As they ran Harry slowly worked up the courage to ask the man about his past. Mr Atkins had seemed surprised that the boy would ask but gave a brief description of how he ended up there. He had been in the US marine corps and had been assigned to work together with the British forces that Headmaster Jacobs had been in charge of. The men had formed a close bond and kept in touch after their mission had ended. When the headmaster had taken over at Stonewall he had reached out to some of the men he had served with and invited them to work at the school.

"When I first met Jacobs," Atkins had explained, "the thing that impressed me the most was his character. He told me that by taking over this school he hoped to be there for the kids that everyone else had given up on. I thought it was a good goal so I packed up and came over here to be a part of it. Who knows maybe one day I'll try something like it back in the states."

Harry started to admire the man even more and hoped that one day he could run alongside him, but for now, he ran at his own pace working to make sure his form was perfect. When he arrived back at the dorm he went inside and made his way to the shower. Due to the decreased population, there wasn't a need to wait your turn, but Harry still liked to be one of the first.

As he looked around Harry took note of the other boys in the wing he stayed in. It turned out that most of the boys that stayed during the summer break were older boys trying to recover credits so that they could move on to the next year of schooling. They had either been too lazy in their work or needed extra help to understand it. As a whole though, none of them really wanted to be here. Across the hall in the opposite wing from where Harry now slept, however, were the disciplinary students. They were the students whose conduct had been unacceptable throughout the year. For them, they spent their time, not in class but doing community service. After breakfast, a bus would come and cart them off to a nearby town to work cleaning a roadway or working in a soup kitchen. Harry was the odd man out. His aunt and uncle believed he was here for the behavioural education but the headmaster had told Harry that on record he was here due to special circumstances so that he wouldn't get any kind of negative mark on his permanent record.

When the headmaster had told Harry this he had also explained that Harry would be given the freedom to spend his time during the summer as he wished. Harry was given a schedule detailing the times and locations of the available classes in case he wanted to sit in on them. He was also allowed to participate in the service projects that were planned for the behavioural students.

"Treat this time as self-guided study," the headmaster had explained, "You have shown in the past year that you can be responsible, if your class records are anything to go by, now it is time to be diligent. Show me that your responsibility isn't dependent on a teacher watching over you. We will be having a weekly meeting and I will expect you to report on how you spent your time, understood."

Harry had agreed to the man's instruction and after considering it, decided to spend much of his time in the library. Liam had given him a list of books to read over the summer. Each one was recommended with a glowing review of how well crafted the story was. He had started some of them and while he found the stories interesting he would normally only read a chapter or two and then move on to studying other topics. Due to learning that the Headmaster had been in the military, that became one of his regular areas of study. He learned about the different branches of the armed forces and what each of their functions was. He read histories about the wars that Britain had been involved in. Harry didn't like the idea of war, it seemed like it was only good for destruction. But, Harry did know that Headmaster Jacobs and Mr Atkins had both been in the military and knew they were good people. He also knew that joining the military may give him a place to belong after he graduated from Stonewall. He wasn't sure if fighting was something he wanted to do but the idea had taken root in his mind.

When he finished with his research Harry liked to spend some time wandering the grounds thinking about his findings or daydreaming about the future. Around his third week, however, his routine changed when he made friends with an odd dog that would visit the school campus.

Sirius felt good being out in the open. As he lay in the grass of a playing field he thought back to the series of events that led him here. He had slipped out of the bars of his cell during winter. When he had seen the paper with that headline Sirius had immediately begun to ponder when the best time to escape would be and decided on December because it got dark earlier, which meant that night would have fallen by the time the barge that brought replacement guards arrived, allowing his black dog form to sneak onto it undetected.

Once on the barge, Sirius found a nice hiding place behind some crates that were secured on the deck. The captain had gone through the procedure of casting homenum revelio to check for unplanned human passengers, but Sirius wasn't a human at the moment, he was a dog. A very skinny dog who was grateful for the anti-apparition wards which forced the ministry to ferry personnel to and from the island by barge. When the barge was within sight of the mainland Sirius slipped silently into the water and doggy paddled to shore. It was numbingly cold, but strengthened by his resolve to find Harry, he made it to the shore and loped into some nearby woods. Shaking himself dry, the animagus quickly gathered a bundle of sticks then, after turning back into his shivering human form, lit them with a wandless incendio. Once the fire had warmed him sufficiently, he tried to make it last by casting some warming charms then putting out the fire and burying the evidence. Turning back into a dog he took off once more intent on getting as far from Azkaban as possible before first light.

As he made his way south he spent most of his time in his animal form, except for a few moments where he just couldn't help himself. For example, when he saw his first sunrise in ten years, he turned into a man so that he could feel the rays on his face. It was nearly overwhelming to be free, there were some days where he would simply roll around in the grass for the simple pleasure of it, as both a dog and a man. But no matter the joy he felt, he never lost sight of his goal. He moved constantly south staying hidden as best he could, which was surprisingly easy if he just stayed near muggle areas.

It was funny, he had often done the same thing with James and Lily when they had been on the run. James and he were somewhat familiar with muggle culture, but with Lily along, they had been able to blend seamlessly in with the crowd. Though they had never been able to stay in one place long. Within a day or two death eaters would show up to give chase. They had always wondered if there was some kind of rare tracking charm being used, but now Sirius was sure that it was just the rat giving their position away. Thinking about Peter caused a nearly uncontrollable rage to overcome Sirius and he had to sit in an alley for a few moments breathing deeply to calm himself down so that he didn't lose sight of his goal. Once he had control of himself he left to head to the next village.

While in one muggle town he decided that it was about time he made himself presentable. His human form was still dressed in the dirty prison outfit he had been issued at the start of his stay in Azkaban. There was no laundry in the wizard prison, instead, the guards would come by once a week and blast your cell with a few scourgify charms getting rid of any messes that the prisoners had made and cleaning their bodies and clothes. Did he also mention that there were no toilets in the cells? So honestly Sirius was always very happy for cleaning day to come around. Pushing those unpleasant thoughts back into the box he repressed them in, Sirius turned into a human and began walking amidst the crowd. Most people avoided him, probably assuming he was a beggar, but that was fine because he wasn't exactly proud of what he planned to do.

Figuring he was already a criminal, Sirius used a few wandless and silent summoning charms to nick the pocketbooks of several muggles he passed. After quickly pulling out the money inside he would banish them back the pockets he took them from. Soon he had a respectable amount of money which would allow him to buy a new set of clothes. Entering an alley, Sirius concentrated and risked a transfiguration on his prison outfit.

"Let's be honest Sirius, you were never a dab hand at this with a wand so how bad can you do without one?" he muttered, trying to build up his courage.

It wasn't perfect but in the end, he was able to alter the colour to a neutral grey on top and blue on the bottom. As he moved through the crowd he noticed that his new garb drew less attention so he found a second-hand store and picked out a jacket, shirt and a pair of pants to purchase.

With his new outfit bought, he made his way to a small inn and he spent the majority of his remaining funds on a room where he could shower and change clothes. He didn't cut his hair, figuring that any pictures the ministry had of him would be from the start of his incarceration when his hair and beard were much shorter. Sitting down on the bed Sirius decided to take a small risk by staying here for the night.

As he sat in the room he contemplated his current plan. As Harry's godfather, he had been a part of James and Lily's planning for what to do if they passed on. That was, sadly, a common conversation amidst couples during the days of Voldemort even for couples as young as they had been. While discussing options for Harry's guardianship, James asked about Lily's sister as they were talking about her extended family. Lily had immediately put her at the bottom of all possible names, jokingly stating that she would rather send him to the second cousin she had met once in grade school before her. However, she had let slip that Petunia and her husband lived in the town of Little Whinging. Remembering that the article that had sparked his escape attempt had briefly mentioned that the boy's whereabouts were unknown and that Lily's sister was the only muggle name on the list of possible caretakers, Sirius figured that they would be his best bet for discovering the location of his godson. His course set, the escaped convict settled down into a light fitful sleep on the first bed he had used in a decade.

Waking early the next morning, Sirius collected his prison clothes and put them into the bag he was given for his new outfit. He planned to burn them when he got out into the countryside again. Leaving the room he put the key into the office dropbox and began walking down the street. Now that he was in plainer clothing he figured he could enjoy walking on two legs for a while. As he passed an electronics store however he froze at the image currently on one of the televisions in the window. It was his face. Watching more closely he saw that it appeared to be part of some sort of notice program. He wasn't very familiar with muggle television but he did remember Lily saying that there would sometimes be showings of current events. Here it appeared that someone in the ministry of magic had the bright idea of telling the muggle authorities to look for him.

"Oh, dragon dung," Sirius cursed lightly. Lily had been very strict against cursing so the marauders all learned alternatives quickly.

Looking around Sirius noticed that at least one person on the street was watching the screens and then turning to squint at him. Offering a nervous smile to the man, Sirius turned and calmly but quickly walked away turning into the nearest alleyway he turned back into his dog form and made his way out of town.

Deciding that it was too risky, Sirius avoided towns all together over the next weeks of his travels. He was able to cover a good distance when he had a high place to disapparate from, but most of the ground he was covering was flat plain making it unnecessarily dangerous to try and use apparitions regularly. Instead, he walked or ran in dog form, feeding himself by hunting small game and eating it raw. His canine physiology protected him from sickness caused by his diet, but he did miss food that tasted of something other than blood.

Finally, he arrived in Little Whinging. At nightfall, Sirius transformed back into a man and found a phonebox. Inside, he opened the address book and began searching. He couldn't completely remember Petunia's last name, but he was sure it started with a D or a T So turning to the D's he began to look for a Petunia. It wasn't until he was nearly at the end of the list that he found Vernon and Petunia Dursley.

"Seriously who has a name with U as the second letter, it was just plain rude." He muttered to himself. His rant done, Sirius took note of the address and made his way through town to number 4 Privet Dr.

Arriving at the home he noted that no lights were visible in the windows. Sneaking around the back, Sirius approached the door that opened to the back garden and tested the handle. Finding it locked Sirius concentrated and cast a wandless alohomora, it took him two tries but he was eventually rewarded with the satisfying click of a lock opening. Sneaking in, Sirius took stock of the house he walked through. It was well taken care of as far as he could see. Knickknacks covered several of the surfaces, making the main living areas feel cluttered. On the walls, he noted a few pictures. He was worried slightly because he could only see one boy in them and there was no way that fat child was the son of the perpetually skinny James Potter. His worries were somewhat alleviated though when he found two bedrooms upstairs each filled with toys.

"Oh no," he thought, "they spoiled him."

He wasn't too worried, with Lily's blood in him there was no way Harry could turn out too bad. Turning to leave the house, Sirius contemplated checking on the couple but decided against it.

Harry wasn't here at the moment, but Sirius was fairly certain he would be returning here. He had a strange feeling about this house though. Why were there no pictures of Harry on the walls? As he looked back into the smaller of the two rooms he began to notice other things, such as the fact that several of the toys appeared to be broken. He also saw that the bed was not made up as the other had been, instead, it was completely bare, just a mattress sitting on a frame. Picking his way through the room Sirius opened the closet to find it empty and with a layer of dust that hinted to it being unused.

Now Sirius began to worry again. He cursed the fact that he wasn't proficient with legilimency so that he could peer into the minds of the Dursleys and see the truth. Making his way downstairs he left out the door he entered through, relocking it so that there was no trace he had ever been in the building. Taking a seat in the garden Sirius collected his thoughts and planned what to do. He knew that Harry wasn't here now. He was unsure if Harry would ever be here, but for now, this was his best lead. As much as he hated it Sirius resolved himself to wait. From calendars he had peeked at during his trip he knew that it was approaching mid-January. It wasn't long till summer and he had lived ten years in Azkaban, so a few months as a stray in a town like this shouldn't be too bad.

As he assumed his new life Sirius learned a few things, like the fact that he did not like Lily's sister. The first and only time she caught sight of him lounging on the street near their home she had called the dog catcher. Since then he decided to only watch their house in the evenings. His days were normally spent wandering around looking for scraps to eat. As soon as he became somewhat well known there were a few kind shop owners and families that would leave out food for him so he never went hungry. His evenings were spent outside the Dursleys' house using his keen canine hearing to listen in to their chats. As he did this he worried because the only child they seemed to speak about was "Duddykins" or something. Right as he began to lose hope however he finally got a lead when he overheard a phone call between the wife and another party. He had unfortunately been unable to make out the voice on the other side of the call but he did hear her mention a boy and, by the tone of voice she used, he could tell she wasn't talking about "Duddykins" again.

Hiding in the bushes when the husband finally arrived back home from work, Sirius popped back up and positioned himself below one of their dining room windows to catch their conversation at dinner.

"Honey," Petunia began, her tone showing slight reluctance to broach the topic, "I received a call today from Stonewall High School."

"Stonewall?" Vernon responded distractedly, "What's Stonewall? We don't have any dealing with them through Grunnings I don't think."

"No dear, Stonewall is the place where we sent the boy, Harry."

There was a pause in the conversation. Sirius's heart leapt. He had been right, Harry was here at some point. Now he just needed to find out what was going on with this Stonewall place.

"What happened?" the man asked, his voice showing hints of fear that he tried to hide behind anger. "He hasn't finally awakened that freakishness you warned me about has he?"

"I was nervous about the same thing, but no, thank God. From what the headmaster told me he was calling because the boy was a poor student."

"He hasn't been kicked out has he?" Vernon asked in an exasperated voice.

"No, to the contrary, the headmaster was offering to keep the boy longer than the regular school year for additional, um, rehabilitation, I think he called it."

"Oh, so they're just trying to milk more money out of us."

"Well, it is apparently a state-sponsored program so it wouldn't cost us any additional funds."

"Hmm," The man growled as he seemed to think, "I don't trust it. The man works for a state school which means he is in government and people in government are always trying to get good, honest, working people's money."

"That may be dear, but think about how this could be a way to finally be free of the burden that my sister gave us. It wouldn't cause rumours about us because everyone already knows how poorly the boy acts and we could tell them he is in a summer program to help him learn to be a better member of society." Her husband didn't respond so she tried one last time, "The headmaster said he would call again tomorrow, could you at least talk to him to see what he says?"

"Alright, what time? The man said back grudgingly

"About 4, I should think, that was about when he called today," Petunia explained.

"I will have to leave work early, but we don't have any big accounts to work on at the moment," Vernon mumbled to himself, "fine, I will be willing to listen."

Sirius seethed as the conversation moved on. To think that there were muggles that were just as ignorant and small-minded as his family had been. Sirius needed to see his godson. He didn't know what kind of institution this Stonewall was but if it wasn't to his liking he would be taking Harry away, consequences be damned. He came back the next night to hear the conversation Vernon had with the headmaster which ended in Vernon agreeing to leave Harry at the school for most of the summer. During that day Sirius had prepared by going through the town as a man and researching where Stonewall was located. He found out it was only one county over, so as soon as he heard that a decision was made he left to start his next trek.

A few weeks later and he arrived. He looked at Stonewall from the top of a nearby hill. He was not impressed by the building. It was stocky and solid, the fences around the campus gave off an oppressive feel that reminded him of Azkaban. He began to fear for his godson and started to form plans on how he would get him out of the place.

School had still been in session when he arrived in the area so Sirius decided to wait until the population of the facility shrank before he tried to infiltrate. Eventually, he watched as busses carted away students. A few days later he saw automobiles ferry away what he assumed was the majority of the teachers. Finally, it was time for him to act. Turning into a man Sirius apparated passed the fence into a space behind a building. Turning back into a dog Sirius walked out and began to stalk on the grounds. He watched for the places that students normally traversed and finally after three hours of careful observation he saw him.

Harry looked like a young James Potter. Even in his dog form Sirius couldn't help but tear up slightly at the messy black hair and spectacles that he was so used to seeing on his lifelong friend. He watched him for two more days from afar, until he couldn't hold back anymore and had to approach. He waited until an afternoon when the boy was wandering the grounds alone apparently lost in thought. Hesitantly, Sirius left his cover making himself visible to the boy. When he could see that Harry spotted him, he froze. Sirius did everything he could to appear non-threatening, his ears drooped, his head bowed, his tail tucked between his legs, he tried everything short of rolling over and exposing his belly. Fear crept into Sirius's mind. What if he ran to get a teacher to chase him away? What if the boy tried to chase him off? All of these thoughts flew out of his mind, however, when he saw Harry's eyes. They were identical to Lily's, kind warm eyes that almost glowed a bright green.

Slowly, Harry approached, his hand reached into his bag and pulled out a roll wrapped in a napkin that the boy must have been keeping in case he got hungry. He stopped short of Sirius and placed the roll on the ground, before backing away slightly. Sirius approached trying to appear cautious and ate the roll. He then looked to Harry with an expectant look. Harry held out his hand and Sirius followed his canine instincts to approach and sniff the hand. Harry then reached out and began to scratch Sirius's head. Sirius allowed his tongue to roll out at the simple pleasure of a head scratch and sat down near the boy's feet.

"Where did you come from?" Harry asked rhetorically.

Sirius felt the boy's hands search his neck for a collar. Harry gave up his search a moment later and settled down to pet the dog and look him over. Sirius's months as a dog had not been too bad on him. His fur was slightly matted on the bottom from his travels but he had eaten enough that even though he was still thin his ribs weren't showing. Harry's other hand eventually found its way to Sirius's flanks and the boy used his fingers as a comb, running them through his shaggy fur. After a few minutes of letting himself be pampered. Sirius stood up and gave the boys hand a parting lick before walking behind a nearby building. He plopped down in the building's shadow, hoping that he could convince the boy that he was staying there so he would come back. Harry watched him for a few more minutes before standing to leave himself.

So Sirius established himself as the stray dog on campus. Harry would come back to the same area and visit him on most days, normally bringing with him a napkin of table scraps. Sirius watched him and after a few days of observation decided that the boy appeared to be content. As odd as it seemed given the austere surroundings on campus Harry was happy here so Sirius resolved himself to stay as near the boy as he could.

"Your godfather is here Harry," Sirius thought to himself, "and I promise you, just like I did to your parents, that I will always protect you."