Summary: One woman's desperate attempt to save her son has far reaching effects. Old Magick always has a price. One determined to never Bow meets someone who might just force the issue. Two Street Rats might just change the world... if they don't end up Dead first. Cloud!Harry Xanxus/Harry

OK so this is one of a few project pieces that I am working on so I feel the need to warn you about it. First, Power words. So we all have words that are capitalized in our heads, right, I just impart that to the written word so please no Flames about that. Second I am going to be dealing with mental illness which is a triggering subject for some but I believe that all people have some form of it, whether its genetic or just fucking environmentally based so everyone is a bit sideways in this fic. Um so on with it I guess Fyi I do not own and make no money on anything in this work

Chapter 1

She really shouldn't have had access to the books that held the hints at the Idea of what she had planned… but then James didn't like to remember that his Grandmother had been a Black and had never looked for her Library. It was only due to a little Liquid Luck that she had even noticed the small chamber sealed into the mirror in her dressing room in the Godric's Hollow cottage. Lily had no idea what consequences invoking such Old Magick would have but standing in front of Voldemort, hands clenched behind her back to hide both their trembling and the wound that wouldn't stop bleeding, she was out of time and options. Her brave, strong husband was dead, her wand had been destroyed in the mock ritual she had barely managed to complete and she would never have any idea if it had even been worth all of the hard work she put in.

Voldemort didn't laugh as he raised his wand but he was smiling that sinister little curl that hinted at the depths of his madness and she hated him for all that he had ripped from her. Lily Potter snarled in the face of her death, back straight and chin up, ever the Lion. She might never see the other end of the green light speeding her way but she had done all she could to protect the brightest star in her life from his Fate. She whispered his Name, felt it drop from her lips to vibrate the fabric of the universe for a single brief instance, but the sound of it was washed away by the silence of Death. Lily's body fell to the floor finishing the last part of the complex web of Magick she had spent months weaving. The monster laughed in sick joy and shouted the spell once more.

Unfelt by any mortal the world up and did a jaunty little jig before settling back into its home. The killing curse splashed against the boy before reflecting on its caster but leaving young Harry physically untouched. The Power to shift Fate comes with a steep Price, however, one that Lily's doomed soul just did not satisfy. The child screamed as a small wriggling, twisting mass of Amber soared from his mouth to vanish with a soft puff. Green eyes glowed Violet in an ashen face.

Lily, as smart as she was, should really have known better than to play with Fate.

The spellwork and calculations involved with making a motorcycle Fly were astronomical and had given Sirius Black more Headaches and sleepless nights then he could count as he enchanted each bloody piece. The trickiest part, for sure, had been the speed vs height ratio mostly because the matrix required so much energy to stay aloft that he'd tied the whole damn thing straight into a Node to power it and that meant Rebecca had more speed at lower altitudes where she was more linked to the Ley Lines. He had never pushed her to any extreme before, mostly from the very real fear of becoming a splatter on the road, but Halloween night her wheels skimmed the pavement as he used that principle to race through the British countryside at speeds that would have killed a Muggle while lacking care for who saw him.

Wormtail was Missing.

Sirius had gone to check on him and bring the man some Holiday Cheer, a six pack left shattered on the floor of a silent hideout still resounded in his ears, but the Rat had vanished. He couldn't believe it for several painfully long seconds before he was racing to mount and leaving a spree of gravel in his wake. He only knew that his friends lived in Godric's Hollow because Pettigrew had told him two weeks before, after they had changed plans and gone with Sirius' Idea. He remembered watching the Ceremony and the man's tears as they inscribed the Secret into his Soul. Had felt Jealous as James and Lily had entrusted their safety to another even if he knew it was the right choice.

Only it obviously hadn't been…

The half Mad portion of himself, the Black part that he hid behind slightly cruel jokes and a devil may care attitude, was convinced of the worse. The die hard Gryffindor in him said he was overreacting; that he'd turn up on the Potter's doorstep looking like a fool to find sweet kindly Uncle Peter giving Little Harry a ride on his portly shoulders. They'd all have a good laugh at the Breakdown he was sure to have but truly the War had not been as easy on him as he liked to pretend… they still hadn't found Regulus.

Sirius turned the final corner just in time to see Hagrid, of all people, come stumbling from the wreckage that had once been his Family's Home. The Fidelius Charm had Fallen. A sobbing scream ripped itself from his chest as he vaulted from a still moving Rebecca only to be caught bodily by the half-giant after only a dozen strides. He struggled and cursed right up until he noticed the toddler in Hagrid's other arm. He ripped Harry from the man and nearly fell to his knees when he felt small puffs against his cheek.

"Oh dear Merlin, he's alive?!" He gasped in light headed Joy. Only one look at Hagrid's crestfallen face stopped him in his tracks. He clutched Harry to him, slightly frightened by his continued silence, and forced himself to ask the question he already knew the answer to. "James and Lily…?"

Hagrid's thick beard trembled as tears filled his black eyes. Sirius' head fell back and he Howled out the pain of losing his Family before tucking his face into Harry's soft hair to hide his own tears. An intense Relief filled him when the boy stirred against his chest with a soft whimper. The Animagus set his godson down gently and dropped to his knees to brush black locks from the toddler's face with the soft smile reserved just for him; only Harry blinked Dull green eyes at him.

"Harry… Prongslet…" Sirius called as Desperation and Rage began to spill from his heart. "Baby boy talk to me… Please!"

"Pa'oot…" Harry finally said though it was heavily slurred. The boy blinked again and started to raise a hand only for it to seem like he lost the Will to lift it. In fact Sirius could literally see the energy leaving the boy and caught him just as the little body collapsed. Fear wanted to paralyze him, threatened to rip all reason from him, but that small well of Rage that he had stifled all his life until that moment snapped.

"Hagrid," Sirius said very slowly, he knew what he had to do but first he had to make sure Harry was taken care of. "Take him, take my bike, get him to Dumbledore. I think something is wrong."

"'ut…" Hagrid started but the smaller adult was already pushing the limp boy back into his hands.

"Sorry, I'd do it myself but…" He froze almost afraid that the half-giant might try and stop him if he divulged his plan. He looked over at the destroyed house once more. "There's something I have to do."

Sirius Black turned on his heel and vanished.

Petunia Dursley didn't like to remember that she had a Sister. So Vernon asking after Lily one evening might as well have been a Bad Omen - not that she believed in that Superstitious Nonsense. However she knew well enough that just because you didn't Believe in something didn't make it any less Real. So she was not much surprised when the next morning, upon opening her door to fetch the milk, there lay a toddler in a basket on the step.

She almost screamed, as would be the Normal response to such a thing, but the briefest flutter of jade green eyes stopped her Voice cold. A shiver of Dread coursed through her but she forged ahead and pinched the letter tucked into the blankets; with the very tips of her fingers Petunia shook open the heavy, familiar parchment.

Petunia Dursley,

I write with great sadness to inform you of the passing of your sister, Lily Potter nee Evans, and her husband, James Potter III, in the valiant fight against the Dark Lord Voldemort. They are survived by their son, Harry, who is being hailed as the savior of our world for being the only person to live after having been hit with the same curse that killed his parents.

I am afraid that I must leave young Harry with you for both of your protection. The Dark Lord had many followers who would seek to hurt him in revenge but Lily cast a powerful bloodward that will be strengthened by living with a blood relation. So long as Harry resides in your home no magical harm will come to you.

Petunia I am sorry.

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore O.M. (First Class)

Petunia almost laughed, even as her heart Ached, because she had always known her Sister would get her comeuppance but she was reminded of the toddler who was... her Nephew. A Wizard without a doubt, with parents like his, she sniffed and pulled the boy to his feet with a rough hand and ushered him into the house. After a quick look to see which neighbors were watching she closed the door with a snap.

"Do you know who I am?" The blonde spoke slowly but clearly. The boy shook his head but otherwise remained still and silent. Petunia scowled because of course Perfect Lily wouldn't tell her son about having an older Sister. She clutched the letter from the man who had ruined her life and made her decision. "I am your Aunt and this is your new home."

There was no blinding flash of light but she could feel the change. Magic was afoot. She sighed because she had no idea how to explain to Vernon why she had decided to take in her Magical orphan nephew without so much as a by your leave. Above their heads she could hear him going through his morning habits and as if sensing her attention on another she caught the sound of her sweet Dudley stirring as well.

Bloody Fucking Hell...

Peter had run; right after delivering the address to the Dark Lord he'd started Apperating and hadn't any plan to stop. There was no going back from a Betrayal like his and he knew, no matter who won, that it was a When not If Sirius Black would find him. So he was actually prepared when, as he was hurrying down the street in muggle London almost a month past All Hollow's Eve, he spotted a shaggy haired Grim stalking him in the crowd. He jumped back just as the human Sirius charged forward. It was clear from the Violet shade of his silver eyes that the man had already lost all sense.

"How could you, Black?!" The Rat animagus shouted as he fingered the wand up his sleeve. "Lily and James were our best friends, you Dog!"

He cast a Dark Confringo at the street, dropped his previously Severed pinkie and Transformed in the hair's breadth of time where his Former Friend was distracted by confusion. He hid in the stinking mass of Sewer Rats as they surged from the gaping fissure he had caused. Above the screams of the wounded he could hear the cold, chilling Cackle of a Mad Black and knew that even as Sirius was dragged away by Aurors that it wasn't over. It didn't matter that he was the one that got away... he was Still a Dead Man Walking and the White Sheep of the Black Family would be his Executioner.

Peter Fled...

Xan Refused to Cry. Crying didn't help that his Ma was a Whore, the Ache in his belly or the fading bruises from the last time he'd been caught with his hand in someone else's pocket. Tears just made you more of a Target; so even though the man who had caught him was holding onto his bird thin arm painfully he just Glared and bared his teeth. The man snarled and dragged the five year old through the crowd and tossed him bodily down an alley. Nobody even batted an eye, not that the red eyed boy would have expected any help for a Street Rat like him.

He rolled when he hit the ground, sprung to his feet and was off like a shot. The culo really shouldn't have let him go because Xan was small and fast. Only a brick wall blocked his Escape and the man was just steps behind him. A Street Rat who isn't crafty is a Dead Rat, or so his Ma said when she patched him back up in her clear moments, so he stopped cold and jumped to the left.

His mark charged straight into a brick wall and fell like a stone. Xan smirked, rifled through jacket pockets and flipped the man the bird before jetting off richer than he'd been that morning. His Ma would be happy with the extra bills and coins, his empty belly groaned in Anticipation, though he might have to find another place to scout for marks. The black haired boy scurried through the streets, head down and eyes Watching, until the homes turned to hovels and right up to the stinking pile he shared with his Ma in the Slums.

It rubbed Xan wrong that they were forced to Suffer the way they did but one day he would be Strong and when he was he would take his Ma from the streets. He'd set her up in a palace instead and they'd never go without because they couldn't afford it. He pushed aside the sheet that served as their door and hurried to the thin pale woman standing before the empty pot. He wasn't surprised when she didn't turn, she had been having a Bad Day when he'd left that morning, so he tucked the money away in their spot and curled up on the Excuse of a mattress that was their bed to sleep; his belly rumbled in displeasure.

His whole body had trembled with his Grief and Fury as they dragged him away from the Massacre and straight to a damp cell on the worst block of Azkaban. Not that he noticed, not that he Cared. He Laughed until he Sobbed. Sirius screamed and Raged until his body sagged in Absolute Exhaustion. Then the Dementors came and for a span of time he knew nothing but Agony.