Think I actually forgot it last time: I do, of course not own Harry Potter, or any of the characters.
Thanks to all the lovely people who have taken the time read my story and even review, it really means a lot to me :)
I changed the rating to T, as that seemed safest, and I hope it doesn't put anybody off reading it.
hornet07: I get your point, yes. I got the idea from the Wichter series, actually, which I just finished, where I found it quite interesting to read. But don't worry, there aren't any more planned for the forseeable future. About the I/me: I thinks that's actually a rather common mistake even for native speakers (without wanting to look for excuses), although somebody like Remus would obviously not write that. And the intent was just plain stupidity, thanks for pointing it out :)
CaseLC:I'm not sure about the time scale yet. This story, as mentioned, will not be very long; we'll not see Hogwarts, and definitely no Voldemort yet. But I have several ideas for follow ups, both one-shots and chapter stories, so I'll see how far it'll go.
alix33:That was indeed dear Daedalus. :) The bird was just supposed to be a random olw that one of the Order members used to communicate. Since I didn't think Harry would have seen many, I just called it a bird. The sandwiches...seeing as this is Remus, whose culinary enthusiasm strechtes only as far as chocolate and Earl Grey, it was probably nothing too fancy. Let's say it was hummus. About Grimmauld Place, I don't think its outlay is ever clearly described. Here, I decided that thee was a small study/living room thing at the ground floor, as well as the kitchen and a smaller bathroom. There's obviously more bathrooms upstairs; but they did not get to cleaning there yet, and so obviously it's not safe to go there. Hope that cleared things up a bit :) (And thanks for all the spell checking! I corrected them immediately. I generally proof-read the chapters several times, but tend to miss some stuff. I really appreciate you helping me out!)
Leaving
„I got your letter"
Harry merely stared. The crumpled parchment the man was holding was indeed his letter, if rather battered by rain and dirt.
How had it gotten there? And, more importantly, who was this man?
He's got your letter. That must mean...
But surely it couldn't be? Magic wishes only came true in fairy tales, and only for handsome princes or beautiful princesses. Not people like Harry.
But the stranger had his letter.
"Are you my godfather?" Harry managed to ask, his heart hammering in his chest.
The stranger paused for a while, and Harry almost dreaded the answer. But then, the man nodded. "Yes," he said, in a voice that sounded a bit choked. "I'm your godfather, Harry."
He's real. He's actually real, and he's here.
How was he here?
Harry held his breath. "Are you magic?"
There was another pause in which the second man, who was still cautiously searching their surroundings as if he expected someone to jump out and attack them, threw Harry a curious look. "Yes," Harry's godfather finally said with a slight smile. "I am." When he smiled, Harry noticed, he looked a lot less corpse-like. And his eyes shone with a warmth that Harry had never seen in any grown-up's, at least not when directed at him.
Only then did he realize what the man – his godfather! – had said. Magic.
"Really?" he asked, his eyes growing big.
Hid godfather nodded. "Yes. You wrote me a magical letter, and I came."
Magic's not real, a voice that sounded very much like Aunt Petunia said in Harry's head, but he ignored it. "Have you...have you come to take me away?" he asked hesitantly. He didn't really want to ask, for fear that the answer might be no and this beautiful dream would end, but he couldn't stop himself.
To his utter euphoria, the man nodded. "I have...if you want to. I'm Sirius, by the way, but you can also call me Padfoot." He nodded at the man behind him, who interrupted his vigil to give Harry a kind smile, "And this is Remus. He's another friend of your parents, and he'll be living with us." Harry was so caught up in the mention of his parents – these men had actually known his parents! – that he almost missed the last part. When he realized what he had heard, his breath caught.
"I...I can really live with you? I won't have to live with the Dursleys?" Something akin to anger flickered over his godfather's face, and for a moment Harry felt panic raise in him. Had he misunderstood something? Did the other man feel insulted at the notion of having to care for Harry? After all, if his aunt and uncle were anything to go buy, caring for Harry was a nasty burden that nobody would want to shoulder.
But then the man stepped forward, and Harry found himself wrapped in the first hug he could remember. "Of course you can, Harry. You won't ever have to go back to them."
"Sirius, we should hurry," the other man interrupted them, as Harry was still trying to come to terms with the sudden burst of happiness that invaded his senses. He was leaving. He was actually leaving.
Sirius released him and got back up, but offered his hand to Harry with a broad smile. As he took it, Harry wondered why he had ever thought the man looked scary. Those grey eyes were the friendliest he had ever seen. "Ready to get your stuff, Harry?" he said, raising his free hand to knock on the front door. Harry felt fear grip his entrails.
He didn't want to see the Dursleys. They always found a way to spoil anything that would make Harry happy, and surely they'd find a way to end this wonderful dream as wel; tell Sirius that he couldn't take him, that they'd call the police...
Sirius seemed to have read his mind. "Don't worry, Harry. They won't stop Remus and me. We're magic, remember? Evil aunts and uncles can't do anything to us."
Slowly, Harry nodded, gripping his godfather's hand more firmly. "Okay."
The older man pressed the doorbell, and as he listened to the shrill noise fade away into the house and waited with bated breath for his aunt to open the door, Harry could swear he'd heard Sirius mutter something like "I'm going to kill those bloody muggles."
The door opened, and it wasn't Petunia but Vernon who stood in front of them. At the sight of so much scruffiness in in his own front lawn he gave an odd little jump, before his face reddened in anger. "What- we're not buying anything," he snarled, making to grab for Harry's shoulder."Come inside, boy, how-"
"And I'm not selling anything," Sirius interrupted as he protectively stepped in front of Harry, his voice suddenly a great deal colder. "We're here to take Harry with us. Just show me to his room so we can pack."
Vernon was silent for a moment, then burst into an even louder rant. "How dare you-" At this point the other man, Remus, stepped forward, holding an odd little stick in his hand. "Please do be quiet, Mr Dursley; the neighbours will talk. We will take Harry, and you will show us to his room. Don't make us force you; it's not going to end well for you." His voice was perfectly pleasant, but the sight of him – or maybe the odd stick, as his small black eyes seemed to fixate on it – made Uncle Vernon pale and stumble back a few steps. Sirius didn't waste a moment, shoving Harry inside before following, as Remus quickly shut the door behind them. "Come on, we'll get your things, Harry. Remus'll handle the muggles."
He made for the stairs but hesitated when Harry didn't follow. "Erm..." Harry started, slowly walking over to the cupboard. "It's...this is where I sleep," he muttered, his face reddening when his godfather paled. What would Sirius think of him? After all, what sort of strange boy slept in a cupboard?
As it happens, the magic godfather got very angry. "YOU MADE HIM LIVE IN A FUCKING WARDROBE!?" he shouted, swirling around to face Uncle Vernon with a murderous look on his face, his fists balled. "YOU-"
"Sirius, calm down-"
"Vernon, what's-" There was a small squeak as Aunt Petunia saw the chaos that had engulfed her hallway.
"Sirius, his things! Now!"
Sirius hesitated for a moment, looking like he would very much like to punch Uncle Vernon, but then turned around, yanking open the cupboard door. "Alright, Harry," he said, his voice friendly once more but audibly stressed, as shouting erupted behind them. "Here's a bag – " he pulled a rather small looking rucksack from his back, that Harry doubted would fit more than one jumper. But he merely smiled. "Don't worry, it's magic, too. Your things will fit easily. Just give me everything you want to take with you."
Harry nodded, his head swimming. This was all very surreal. The shouting in the hallway – although it had seemed to quiet down a bit, as the Dursleys were reduced to angry muttering, probably at the sight of the odd stick – and the strange man that was his godfather, crouching in his cupboard and stuffing Dudley's baggy old clothes into his magic rucksack.
When they emerged back into the corridor, all three Dursleys were there, staring at him in silent anger and obviously a lot of fear. "Do you want to say goodbye, Harry?" Remus asked, his stick still pointed at Uncle Vernon. Harry quietly shook his head, not looking at his aunt and uncle.
Sirius hesitated, and for a moment Harry thought he really was going to punch his uncle, but then he nodded. "Alright, then, let's go."
He walked out of the door hurriedly, not looking back as his hand closed firmly around Harry's. They turned left, towards Magnolia Crescent. "Where are we going?" Harry asked, wondering for a moment what on earth he was doing – going with strangers was something all the teachers had always warned them against, after all.
But Sirius' next words blew his worry away in an instant. "We're not going," he said, grinning down at Harry rather mischievously, his anger at the Dursleys apparently forgotten. "We're flying." When Harry merely gaped at him, he barked a happy laugh. "Told you I was magic, didn't I?"
They had reached the little park. The playground was deserted, as it was almost dinner time, but Sirius ignored the swings and headed straight for a group of trees. Before Harry could ask what he was doing, he bent down next to a thick bush, and extracted something from under it. "And this is what we're flying on."
Harry stared at the object, which appeared to be a broom. A rather old one at that, nothing like the modern plastic ones Aunt Petunia used. "That's a..."
"Broomstick," Sirius finished, nodding as if it was the most natural thing. "Not a very fast one, mind you, but it'll get us where we need to go."
Harry wanted to ask further, but at that moment Remus reappeared, striding over to them with long, hurried steps. "All clear," he told Sirius, before smiling at Harry. "Ready for some more magic?"
Harry's eyes grew big. "More magic?" he asked.
Remus nodded. "I'll have to hide you and Sirius, so the other, non-magic people won't see you. Don't worry; it's not going to hurt. I'll do Sirius first, so you can watch." He lifted his odd stick again, and, in a rather odd-looking gesture, tapped it onto the other man's head, mumbling something that Harry didn't catch. What he did catch, however, was his godfather suddenly starting to vanish, fading from the head downwards until he was nothing more than a blurry shadow.
"What-ah!" Harry couldn't help but let out a little squeal when Sirius' ghostly hand touched his head.
"Don't worry, I'm perfectly fine," Sirius said, and Harry felt himself blush for acting like a scared girl.
"Are you ready to try it?" Remus asked kindly, lifting his wand once more. "I promise it's not going to hurt. And I'll turn you back to normal as soon as we're there." Harry swallowed, not feeling ready at all, but forced himself to nod. He didn't want the two magic godfathers to change their minds and bring him back to the Dursleys.
The stick touched his head, and he shivered as he felt something cold run down his head. But Remus hadn't lied; it didn't hurt one bit. And when Harry lifted a blurry hand in front of his eyes, he couldn't help but grin, as excitement crept back into him. "Wow."
He felt Sirius' hand on the back of his head once more. It was still strange, not being able to see him properly, but now that he was also invisible, Harry felt weirdly connected to him, and it wasn't scary at all. Until Sirius lifted up the broomstick, holding it out in front of Harry. "Come on, then, climb up."
Harry paused. Climb up? Like...like a witch?" he asked, hesitantly.
The disembodied voice chuckled. "Exactly, Prongslet. Like a witch." Harry felt rather ridiculous, but obeyed, and sat on the broomstick, cautiously holding on to it. Sirius climbed on after him, reaching around him to hold the tip of the broomstick so that Harry found himself hugged by him once more. Some of his nervousness faded, until Remus raised his stick again, and with another tap the broomstick vanished as well.
"What about you?" Harry asked when the other man made no move to climb onto the invisible broomstick after them – or get his own one, as there really wasn't any room left – but Remus merely smiled.
"I'll meet you there, Harry. Safe journey."
He stepped back, and Harry felt Sirius arms tense. "Ready?" Harry wasn't sure he was, but he nodded anyway. "Hold on tight, then," Sirius said, and then there was as sudden movement as he jumped into the air, and then...
Harry couldn't supress the shocked cry that left him as he found himself flying – flying – into the air, the playground and the houses quickly vanishing below them as they soared higher and higher. "Everything alright?" he heard Sirius voice behind him, and he felt his godfather press closer against his back, as if he was afraid Harry might fall off.
But despite all the strangeness that surrounded him, despite the fact that he couldn't even see the broomstick – a broomstick – that was holding them in the air, and despite the fact that he had only met this man half an hour ago, Harry found himself grinning for the first time in a long while.
He was free.
He was finally leaving the Dursleys, flying away on a magical broomstick to live with his magical godfather. If he hadn't felt the cold wind tearing at his hair, and a small splinter of wood boring into one of his hands, he would have been convinced he was merely dreaming – and maybe he still was, but he found himself not caring right now, because this dream was so fantastical, so mad and wonderful, that even the prospect of waking up seemed small and insignificant.
For the first time in six years, Harry Potter felt truly happy.
"We actually did it." Remus looked at the sleeping boy curled up on the sofa, and couldn't help but smile, despite his tiredness.
Sirius nodded slowly, also watching Harry. "He looks so much like him." His voice sounded almost choked, and Remus realized once more that while he had had six years to come to terms with Lily and James's deaths, Sirius' life had been effectively put on hold in the darkness of Azkaban. To Sirius, they had died mere days ago. He discretely looked away. Brothers they might be, but Sirius hated for anybody to him cry. And what could he say, really? There were no words to lessen the utter despair of having one's word torn apart so horribly. Remus knew, because he had lived through it himself.
"Lily's eyes, though," he said instead, smiling once more. "When he saw you transform that teapot...he looks just like she did when he laughs." Sirius didn't answer for a while, and Remus left him to his silent tears for a while, watching the boy as he slept.
Had they done the right thing? He wondered what Lily and James would have to say about it. Surely neither of them would have wanted him to grow up with those vile muggles?
They probably wouldn't have wanted him to grow up to a life on the run, constantly hiding, constantly in fear of being blasted to smithereens by some overzealous Auror...
But they were safe, here, or as safe as they could be.
Despite the fact that so far, only three rooms in the whole house were inhabitable, and that Harry was sleeping on the couch not because he had fallen asleep listening to stories of magic, but because there simply wasn't a bed for him right now.
"So what's next?" he asked after a while, when the other man had stopped trembling.
"Gonna need a wand," Sirius said at once, a fresh wave of determination in his voice. Remus wasn't a very skilled Legilimens, but he knew what silent mantra had given his friend strength. It was the same that kept playing in his own head.
For Harry.
"I don't suppose there's an old one lying around in here?" he asked.
Sirius shook his head. "Doubt it; they did it the old way, burning them after death. And I don't think I could stomach using my parents' wands anyway."
Remus sighed, rubbing his hand over his face. "Diagon Alley then?" he said dryly. "An escaped murderer, a werewolf turned traitor, and about twenty sickles in funds. Might get a bit tricky, even for us."
"I got money," Sirius said, fishing in his pocket for something before holding up a small silver key. "Found it while we were cleaning. Black family vault is mine now; and as far as I know that's also were they put my stuff when I was... sent away." His voice trembled a little at the memory of his imprisonment, and Remus sensed that there was still a lot they had to talk about. But for now, Sirius quickly regained his composure. "My wand should be in there; if they haven't destroyed it. But I never got a trial, so I don't think they got around to it."
Remus scratched his head. "So you're just going to march into Gringotts like that?" Sirius shrugged. "Gonna go in disguise, obviously. But the goblins generally don't care, do they? They'd let Voldemort himself in if he presented a key."
"It's changing, though," Remus interjected. "The Ministry's been trying to get them to disclose information about your vault." Seeing Sirius' surprised look, he added, slightly apologetic, "Heard it at an Order meeting, a few days ago. When we were discussing on how to protect Harry from you. Moody told us how they were struggling to get the goblins to cooperate."
Instead of worrying, Sirius smiled reminiscently. "Moody's still around? Geez, would've thought someone managed to blow him up by now." He grinned. "Or he himself, more likely." But he grew serious almost immediately. "That means they haven't gotten in yet, though," he said sitting up straighter. "We should go there first thing tomorrow morning. Get the wand and whatever else useful is down there, and some muggle money while we're at it. There'll be confusion once they find out Harry's gone – they might not even know yet; your shift ends at midnight, doesn't it? – so we have to act quickly. I'll go-"
"No," Remus said quickly, feeling Sirius' energy flood over to him. "I'll go. You, they'll hex on sight should they figure out who you are. But you're right; they'll only know in a few hours that Harry's gone, or that I'm involved at all. I'll have much better chances to go unnoticed." Sirius made to protest, but Remus quickly continued. "And if something does go wrong, it's you that Harry needs. You're his godfather. Don't abandon him."
"I'm not..." Sirius started, but fell silent. For Harry. "Alright," he grumbled, "But send me a Patronus if anything goes wrong."
Remus nodded, yawning. He hadn't even realized how tired he was until now. "I will," he said. "But don't leave the house before I'm back."
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Azkaban takes away your happiness, not your intelligence," he said sarcastically, but the expression quickly fell, as awkwardness returned once more at the mention of all that was unsaid. Remus wondered if now was the time to talk about it, but Sirius just cleared his throat, quickly answering his unspoken question.
"Oh, bloody hell," he grumbled, staring at the floor darkly. "It sucked horribly, but I got out. And I don't want to talk about it."
Remus didn't pry further, instead getting to his feet, gathering up their empty mugs. "I'm glad you did," he said quietly once he was at the door, smiling back at his long lost friend. "I missed you, Padfoot."
Sirius looked up from his dark brooding, a small smile creeping onto his face as well. "Missed you too, Moony."
The chapters will be a bit shorter from now on (I generally aim for about 3k words), but so far I'm still comfortably ahead, so there'll be another update this weekend. (I actually started getting up an hour early so I could write a little before uni. If that's not commitment, I don't know what is ;)
Care to leave a review?
