Thank you so much for all the reviews! Sorry I can't properly respond rn. My 2011 laptop is only good for editing and posting. (I do my writing on a Neo2 lol)
Lily wasn't sure if her exile was self-imposed or pressure from other people. On her darker days she felt like she deserved it. The idea to send Harry to her sister's had been Lily's. James was initially against it, but Lily convinced him. Lily and James couldn't protect him on their own. That had been made clear when He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named had attacked. The wards on the Potter's different homes were weak and old. They had contemplated hiring someone to update them, but were unable to trust anyone after what Peter had done.
They should have sent him to live with Sirius, or at least moved into one of the Black family estates, but once again the scar Peter left wouldn't let them trust Sirius. His whole family had been on the side of the dark. It wasn't hard to imagine him following in their footsteps. What's more is that it had been his idea to make Peter the secret keeper. That would have been an easy way to throw them off his trail.
And Peter was still out there, a constant threat on the horizon. They had acted on their fear and now Harry was gone.
Half the time Lily couldn't look at James. Their little Harry had looked just like him in Petunia's memories. But so thin and eyes hollow.
But where Lily wanted to check-out of reality, James clung to her tighter. He spent less and less time as an Auror, instead staying home and talking about the 'good times' in Hogwarts. She hated how he never acknowledged how they had a son and lost him—Though on some level that was a relief. Acknowledging him would mean believing Harry was really gone, that they'd sent him to be tortured then killed. Their little boy. He'd been hurt so many times yet had pushed through, the only light in that cursed house. But he'd shined too brightly and had lost his life because of it.
Some days she blamed Voldemort. He was a parselmouth. Even if he was gone his commands could have lived on. Was it really so farfetched that he'd used his snakes to look for Harry when he was hunting them down? An old order to capture or kill him?
But that was merely Lily trying to push the blame on someone else when it solely rested at her feet.
Many days she took out the swiss army knife that Harry had cared for. Why he'd felt connected to it was a mystery Lily didn't want to contemplate. When she preformed the tracking spell on the knife, it barely made her wand twitch. It had been five years already.
So Lily folded in on herself. Part of her wanted to leave James and start somewhere new, but then she'd be all alone with her thoughts. Instead, she sat quietly every day, staring out the window and clutching a knife that had meant more to her son than anything else.
Sirius was contemplating asking Amelia Bones to marry him. She was higher up on the food chain in the DMLE. Such relationships between commanders and subordinates were frowned upon, but that didn't stop them. She also had ten years on him, not that he minded
Sirius never thought he'd ever be attracted to such a strict person, but he did enjoy being bossed around a little bit. They balanced each other. His carefree attitude mixed with his more… capricious would put off many people, but not Amelia.
They hadn't had any time to spend together in the past few months. A pack of werewolves were capturing people and changing them only to set them loose on muggle towns. The case was already out of hand. Everyone was working overtime and Sirius was grateful that he had plenty of practice getting little to no sleep. It didn't affect him nearly as much as some of his fellow Aurors.
It was two days till the next full moon and the DMLE couldn't be tenser. They'd narrowed down the location of the werewolves to three forests. Three forest steeped in magic with enough creatures to make any search bordering on fatal.
And of the three Sirius was being sent to the most dangerous one, Magenta Forest. He wouldn't have it any other way. He wanted to put an end to this before more people could be hurt. He was the best one for the job, having far more experience with werewolves than anyone else—save perhaps James, but the bloke had all but quit.
He'd been chosen to lead his group of three because he was an Animagus. Better yet a dog who knew the scent of werewolf.
Soon enough they were setting out. He had Paul Redapple and Basil Snortles with him. Paul was his senior, but was fine with Sirius taking command in this mission. Basil was a bit shifty, but that was more because they were going to a dark forest. Basil had gone to Dumstrungs where one of their requirements for graduating was to survive a week in a treacherous mountain forest where deadly creatures abounded. Sirius had heard horror stories about the test and was doubly glad he'd gone to Hogwarts.
As the sun peeked over the horizon, they used a portkey to travel to just outside of Magenta Forest. Sirius could practically feel a miasma of sticky magic coming from it. Basil shuddered at the onslaught.
Sirius made eye contact with the other Aurors. They nodded at him with him, shoring up for whatever was to come.
The air seemed to grow thicker with every step they took. The reasoning behind why it was called Magenta Forest because clear an hour in. It didn't matter where they were looking, their peripheral vision only saw magenta. It was a dangerous phenomenon, limiting their sight.
Despite the tense situation, it felt good to be in his animal form again. His senses had changed, eyesight becoming black and white while his hearing and smelling ability over compensated for it.
In his dog form he also had the persistent urge to take off running. He felt the need to burn off energy. He held back, remembering that they were there for a reason.
Without his wand at the ready he felt vulnerable, but he had to trust his fellow Aurors.
They'd run across a myriad of magical creatures and plants, but no werewolves or prisoners. It was near midday that Sirius picked up on a strange scent. He perked up. He turned to look at Paul and Basil, jerking his head to put them on high alert.
The scent was on the wind, making it harder to track. The scent was at the whim of the air. Sirius couldn't afford to lose it. His movements became faster, but still cautious.
Sirius couldn't quite describe the scent. It was human, but with something else mixed in. Not the usual wet and dirty smell of a werewolf, but something possibly just as dangerous.
He picked up on a winding trail. The undergrowth didn't look disturbed, but he trusted his nose. Paul and Basil were making too much noise for Sirius' liking. He had to keep reminding himself that they were bipedals. In the distance he spotted someone. Their body was covered from the neck down by a bush. They were short and facing their direction, but their face was obscured by shadows. His fellow Aurors saw the figure too. Wordlessly, Paul and Basil went to flank the person while Sirius trotted up to him still in his dog form.
The closer he got the odder the scent became. It had an unnatural tang, like poison or a sickness. The person's head was ducked, picking berries. Sirius made an inquiring noise, a cross between a huff and bark.
Gold eyes met Sirius' black ones. Both froze. It was Harry, it had to be Harry, but his eyes were all wrong. Harry looked at him with concentration then cocked his head. He shifted, but Sirius couldn't see him through the bush. "Walk as a wizard."
Sirius lurched to the side. His body moved without his consent, transforming him back into his natural state. He blinked in surprise. "Stop!" he shouted at Paul and Basil before they could cast stunners. "Harry, is that you?"
"Blimey," Basil whispered from far to their left.
The young boy gave him a discerning look.
"Harry Potter?" His scar was there, and he was a spitting image of James when he was younger, save the long and dirty hair. And those haunting eyes.
"Harry's my given name. Who are you?" He had a slight accent that Sirius couldn't put a name to. Sirius realized that there was no way Harry would remember him, but that didn't stop him from trying.
"It's me Sirius Black. I'm your godfather." Sirius tried to keep his breathing even. "I'm so sorry—Your parents left you with the Dursleys. I was against it. I fought for you to live with me, but they wouldn't listen." Old pain flared in his chest. Anger at Lily and James, guilt for not doing more, and anguish for all the pain Harry had been through. "I'm sorry, Harry. You have to believe me." Tears ran down Sirius' face. He wanted to pull Harry into his arms and make sure this wasn't some delusion brought on by a curse.
Harry was unreadable. He looked around. "Who's with you?"
"It's alright, boys," Sirius called out, not looking away from Harry. He wiped away his tears despite more replacing them. "How are you alive, Harry? We all thought a snake ate you."
Harry looked at him like he wasn't making any sense. "Why would a snake eat me? That's silly."
Paul and Basil made their way towards Harry from opposite directions. Basil had wide eyes while Paul kept looking around for an attack. Paul cast a diagnostic spell to see if they were under a spell. Sirius wasn't the only one to notice Paul's spell. Harry took a few steps back, looking like he was ready to bolt.
"Sorry, sorry. It's okay," Sirius said softly. He shot a glare at Paul.
"Sorry," Paul mimicked, putting his wand away and raising his hands to show they were empty. Basil did the same. He diverted his path to stand by Sirius and Basil followed suit.
"How did you get here, Harry? Surrey is on the other side of Britain."
Harry raised his chin, looking confused rather than arrogant. "Why are you in my forest? Your friends are outsiders." That begged the question of why Sirius didn't fall into that category. He held back that question though.
"We're trying to find some werewolves that have been changing people and attacking muggles."
"None of the 'wolves do that here." So there were some here. And Harry knew them. Sirius gut clenched. What if Harry was a werewolf? He didn't smell like one, but that could mean all sorts of things. "Those two have no other business here. It's better if they leave."
"We still need to talk to them. You might think they're not involved, but they could be hiding that fact," Basil said in a soft and imploring voice. It didn't look like Harry was going to bolt, but they couldn't be sure.
Sirius rounded the bush Harry was behind. He was wearing fine boots, dirty clothes, and had an open knapsack with berries and other things forged from the forest. But no wand. How and what spell he'd cast on Sirius were questions for later. At Harry's neck there was a slight movement, but when Sirius looked closer there was nothing there.
"Is it alright if I talk to them, Harry?" He kept saying his name, as if reassuring himself this was really the little boy he'd lost—that the whole wizarding world lost. "My colleagues can leave if you'd like."
Harry's nose twitched. "Fine."
"Sirius," Basil went to say, but Sirius just shook his head. No matter the cost, he couldn't chance losing Harry again.
"Go. Report to Bones. Don't talk to anyone else." He shot them warning looks. Basil pulled out the portkey. He and Paul were gone a moment later.
The tension in Harry's shoulders eased slightly. Wordlessly he headed south. Sirius noticed that he barely made a sound as he walked. It was unnerving.
"What have you been doing all this time?" Sirius asked, trying to get him talking.
Harry shrugged. "Growing like a weed, Mo says." His grin was a tiny thing, more like Lily's than James' unbound one. Or at least it used to be wide and carefree before everything went wrong.
"Is Mo your friend?" Or were they the one who had kept Harry secret all this time?
Harry glanced at him. "Mo is Mo." He shrugged. "You knew my parents?" His use of past tense made Sirius curious on what those wretched Dursleys had told him about his parents.
"Real pair of idiots, those two. They're still alive, but…" He wasn't sure what else to say about them. He hadn't meant to badmouth them, he just held so much anger towards them. "They should have never sent you to the Dursleys." Harry shrugged, his expression unreadable. "How are you alive? This forest is dangerous."
"The forest is only dangerous if I wander too far." Harry pointed high at a tree. Sirius peered through the thick foliage. There was something carved into one of the branches, but it was obscured by leaves. "If I'd been further away I would have noticed you and your friends." He was frowning at the ground. "Mo isn't going to be happy." He pouted. "You have to tell her I spotted you first."
"Anything you want, Harry." Sirius' concern only grew.
"Where's your wand?" And how did he get his hand on one?
Harry scrunched his nose up. "No wand."
Sirius didn't know how to respond to that. He felt the spiderweb like drag of protective wards. They weren't pushing him away, despite him being a stranger. "Where are we heading?"
"Home. Four-Banks and Steadfast live across from me." He smiled genuinely and put his hand in the knapsack. "Marisella's birthday is this week. I was gathering berries to dye a dress for her."
"There's a spell for that." Sirius smiled. "I can dye it for you." He patted the pocket where his wand was stored.
"No wands," Harry repeated. Was he leading Sirius to some sort of luddite-magic group? They used wards, but were opposed to wands?
"We thought you were dead. I never gave up hope. I should have kept looking."
"It doesn't matter." Harry picked up the pace, laying the discussion to rest.
The farther they went the more wards he felt, dragging on him and making each footstep heavier than the last. Harry appeared unaffected.
Dirt paths appeared then turned into cobbled roads. Slowly a town appeared. The buildings were made from all sorts of materials: thatch, brick, scrap metal—everyone unlike each other. People were milling about, dressed oddly. There were also as many eclectic animals as humans. The towns people only gave Sirius a passing look, suspicious at first then a second later accepting.
"Bashmu!" a little girl who couldn't be older than seven called out from the stoop of a leaning, wooden house. "Mo canceled lessons on my birthday! We're all going to have a party instead!" She bounced over to Harry, smiling with gap teeth. "She's making cake!"
"She doesn't even cancel class on my name-day! So unfair!" Despite his words he was smiling. From his knapsack he pulled a glittering rock. "For your collection." Marisella squeaked with happiness. "I need to talk to your parents. Can you send them to my house?" Marisella nodded vigorously without looking away from the rock. Belatedly, Sirius realized that her teeth were rather pointed. "Go on then," Harry urged. She disappeared into the tilted house.
Harry moved across the way and into a home made out of treated leather and animal bones. Sirius had to duck at the doorway. It was pitch black inside. He moved to cast lumos, but there was a strange noise and the area lit up. The inside was far larger than the outside. There were many hides being tanned on racks, a loom, and spools of thread. In a copper tub there was a large fluff of untreated wool. Jars were shelved on the far wall with unidentified bits and bobbles in them. In a corner was a small, but curious bed. There were two other doors, but they were closed.
"I make clothes in my spare time," Harry answered before Sirius could ask.
He led Sirius through one of the doors into an unmistakable kitchen. He pulled out four porcelain teacups. He filled two and left they other pair empty. Sirius sipped at the motley colored drink and cringed. It was spicy, but bearable.
"Who lives with you? Mo?"
Harry chuckled. "I lived with Mo for a few years, but I'm an adult now. My neighbors helped me build this." Sirius had no idea how a ten-year-old could be an adult, but he didn't question it.
Two more people joined them. Sirius went ridged, fighting back the urge to pull out his wand. The pair—Four-Banks and Steadfast—were half transformed werewolves. But they were smiling at Harry, and he was smiling back.
"You know you could have just come in," the female of the pair said. She was a hulking thing, arms thick and face covered in course hair. In comparison the male was almost petite, yet far bigger than Sirius.
Harry let out chuff. "Right, as if you didn't try to bite my head off the last time, Steadfast."
"Enough with the titles. You know we're practically family." She pulled Harry into a hug. Sirius throat tightened. She looked like she could squish him with the slightest of movements. And she claimed to be the family that Sirius should have been to Harry.
Harry pried himself free. "As it were, this serious man is looking for some werewolves that have been hurting people. I said it wasn't you, but he didn't believe me."
"Ah, yes, my name is Sirius Black. Are you aware of any werewolves in this forest that are changing people?" He was feeling oddly wrong-footed.
Steadfast furrowed her bushy brow. Four-Banks had pulled a clay carafe down and was pouring water in the two other teacups. "We don't get out much," Four-Banks answered while handing Steadfast one of the drinks. "Mari is too much of a handful."
"Understatement," Steadfast said into her cup, her lips twitching up into a smile. Four-Banks rolled his eyes at her. "It will be a full moon in a couple of days." She looked at Four-Banks. "If we can get Mo to watch Marisella, we can take a look around. It's been ages since we ran together."
"Mari will whine. You know how she likes riding on my back." Four-Banks smiled softly. "I'll stay, you go." The pair nodded in unison. He looked at Sirius. "You should come back the day after the full moon. We'll let you know then."
But that wasn't good enough. Sirius needed to know before there would be another attack. "The Aurors will continue their search till then. We can't let anyone else get hurt."
"You work for the Brit Ministry, aye? Any reforms on werewolf laws in the last decade?" There was hope in Steadfast's eyes.
"Sadly no. Not enough voice on the matter." Sirius sipped his drink. "It hasn't gotten worse though."
"Figures." Steadfast finished his drink. The pair said their goodbyes, leaving Harry and Sirius alone again.
"You have to comeback with me, Harry. All of wizarding Britain mourned when we thought you died. I—I need to give you everything the Dursleys took from you."
"Why would I leave? My home's here." Harry brushed his hair to the side. Once again Sirius thought he saw something slithering on Harry's neck, but it was just a glimpse.
"There's more to the world than this place. You're almost eleven. You should be getting ready to go to Hogwarts, not—" He bit his tongue, keeping himself from speaking ill of the place Harry considered home. "They're people outside this forest that love and miss you."
"I've always said I'd explore…" Harry shrugged. "I'll think about it and have an answer for you when you come back." Harry turned away from him in a wordless dismissal.
Sirius swallowed over a lump in his throat. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, pup. I promise I'll make it up to you if you just give me a chance."
"Your words don't mean much to me," Harry whispered. Sirius flinched, but didn't give up.