Here I am again. And about the cliffy... it just had to be there, it was out of my hands... really!
First, the answers to questions in reviews:
The Horns Hold The Halo Up: Sorry for the cliffy, and no, I have no intention of being involved in your premature death
Baranwyn: Thanks, and you'll get to know the real identity of the wolf-boy this chapter.
JuMiKu: His wolf-form has nothing to do with outsiders. Though what he is exactly will be explained in a later chapter.
sami1010220: You'll get to know his identity this chapter.
As to the rest, thanks for reviewing
Also, a warning for this chapter. There is a rather gruesome death, so if you don't like to read that, skip the parts between ''s in italics. And there a bit of abuse either, though not much.
Now, the chapter:
Chapter 4: Death in the Jungle.
With a thud, he felt a sharp pain in his back, before all went black...
When he returned to consciousness, Sirius felt small arms tightening their hold on his chest, before the weight was suddenly gone. Struggling to regain his bearings, as he was sure there was something important going on, he heard a muffled cry of pain.
Something was wrong... but what was it?
Another cry of pain, this time not muffled whatsoever, it returned to him with a snap... The boy!
Opening his eyes, Sirius saw Slytherin-guy, but more importantly, saw the small bundle of child he had in his grasp. Rage pounded through his ears as the whip was brought down on the furred back of the boy, enciting another cry.
With an inhuman growl, he made to launch himself at the brute, not paying attention to his protesting back that had come in contact with the large trunk of a tree. But from a different direction an even louder growl came, before a huge tiger jumped at them, taking a swipe at the boy, but tumbling over him at the speed. Sirius figured it was just a young tiger with not too much experience.
In a second, jaguar-like Sirius was gone, being replaced by a fully grown black jaguar. He jumped over the boy to stand protectively between him and the tiger. The tiger hesitated, seeing the predator in front of him, and Sirius nudged his head at the boy, who got the gist and fled to a tree, which he easily climbed into with his sharp nails.
By now the tiger was over his initial shock and swiped at Sirius, who managed to avoid the sharp claws and instead swiped at the huge paw. The tiger hissed and pulled his bleeding paw back, which gave Sirius enough time to retreat to the tree too.
Sirius returned from full jaguar to jaguar-man in the tree, grabbing for his wand to stun the tiger, who was now advancing on Slytherin-guy, who seemed rooted to the spot. Sirius then saw his own wand, laying on the ground a few feet from the tree he and the boy were in.
"Run! You idiot! RUN!" He yelled at Slytherin-guy. Finally, the Slytherin-guy moved, jumping towards his motorcycle, where Sirius could see the abandoned wand of the man, but the tiger was faster and with a massive swipe of his claws, a loud crack was heard as the man's neck broke and he slumped to the ground.
Turning his head away, Sirius knew all hope was lost for the guy... he was dead. So he tried to shut the sounds of an eating tiger out and concentrated on the boy that was on the same branch he was on.
"You allright?" Sirius asked.
"Fine..." The boy said, taking his wide eyes away from the gruelling sight below them.
"Come... let me have a look at that leg of yours." Sirius said.
Almost reluctantly, the wolf-boy moved towards Sirius, who moved a bit so he could take a proper look at the kid's leg. It wasn't a pretty wound... three deep ragged cuts went from a bit above the boy's knee, over his thigh, to just below his waistline.
"That'll have to be bound kid, as it doesn't look like we're going anywhere anytime soon. I'm no star at all the medical stuff... in fact, I don't know any healing spells besides a Quick-Heal I learned at Auror-training, but even if I had my wand, that spell wouldn't benefit you at all. So I'll have to find something to bandage that."
Looking around, Sirius saw his bag, like his wand, was out of his reach. The only thing suitable as a bandage were his pants, as neither he nor the boy wore shirts, and the boy's short shorts were hanging by threads. Sirius' pants were torn too, tribute to the transformation in which he didn't have the concentration to transfigure his pants along with his body, but at least his pants were long. Ripping the legs of his pants off, with which his claws helped greatly, he tore them in long strips.
Using the strips, he bandaged the gaping wound as best as he could, which wasn't that good, but it would have to do for now.
Looking down, he saw the tiger was now prowling around the tree, seemingly finished with Slytherin-guy's corpse. Once in a while he would put his front paws on the trunk and hiss when he couldn't reach the pair. The tiger must have been very hungry to still be hungry after... best not think of that...
Turning back to the boy, he saw a very tired, very scared-looking kid.
"C'mere, kid, you should sleep." Sirius said, motioning for the boy to come into his lap, so he wouldn't fall out of the tree when he slept. "I'll keep watch."
Again hesitantly, the boy moved towards Sirius. With surprising ease, considering his wounded leg... then again, maybe not so surprising, considering the fight Sirius'd seen and the wounds that could be inflicted.
Gently, Sirius wrapped his arms around the lithe frame of the boy, careful not to touch the welts that were still on his back from the whip. Sirius could feel the kid stiffen, then slowly relax and become more comfortable in the embrace, wrapping his own arms around Sirius' chest again.
The ripping of cloth then was heard from the foot of the tree. Sirius looked down and saw his backpack being ripped apart.
"Sorry..." The boy said, barely audible.
"About what?"
"About making you come here and having your stuff torn..."
"Don't worry about my stuff kid. They were just clothes and an old broomstick. And besides, you didn't make me come here. I did that all by myself... Sorry about your 'Master..."
Startled, the boy looked up, then settled his head back into Sirius' chest.
"He wasn't very nice to me..."
'Understatement of the Century.' Sirius thought, but didn't comment on it.
"... but I didn't want him to die... and really not like this..."
It was silent for a while, but just as Sirius thought the kid was finally asleep, he started talking again.
"Shouldn't I be sad? I mean... My parents died when I was little in a car-crash... and I sometimes feel sad about that, and sometimes I feel mad at them for leaving me... even though that's stupid... but Master... I don't feel anything... I'm almost... releaved... is that bad?"
For a moment, Sirius thought of what he should say.
"No, kid, that's not bad. I think it's normal, though I'm no expert at this. The guy you call 'Master' was nothing like what a parent should be, and frankly doesn't deserve your loyalty or anything else from you." Sirius bit his lip to stop himself from saying in no uncertain terms what he thought of the Slytherin-bastard...
Ten minutes later, the wolf-boy was fast asleep, the steady rise and fall of his chest indicating it was a quiet sleep, even though the breathing was still somewhat ragged. He have to check out the chestwound too, as it might be possible that the sword had injured more than just flesh.
/\\/\
The sun finally came up, though the tiger still was planted at the foot of the tree. Only when the sun was high enough to really start to heat up the world, did the tiger walk off, though regretfully looking back at the two black figures sitting as one in the tree.
Sirius waited another hour to make sure the tiger was really gone, before waking up the boy.
"Hey kid, sleep well?"
He got a nod in response.
"The tiger's gone, so we can get out of here."
Another nod.
"Wait here for a moment." Sirius said, and the boy shifted so he was sitting on the branch and Sirius was free to move.
Sirius jumped down, landing in a crouch, and carefully looked and sniffed around after getting his wand. The scent of the tiger still hung in the air, but he didn't seem around anymore. He turned to the waiting boy in the tree.
"Jump, I'll catch you."
"I can land on my own." Came the reply.
Smiling at the boy's concealed stubbornness, Sirius said: "I'm sure you can, but I don't think it would be that good to the wounds on your leg and chest."
A barely imperceptible nod before the boy jumped down and Sirius caught him expertly under the armpits.
Sitting him down on a root, Sirius said: "First things first. Do you want me to change you to human now?"
Another nod.
'He sure isn't very talkative.' Sirius thought, before muttering a spell and the boy started changing. His fur disappeared, his finger's became shorter and thinner, as did his toes and feet. The rest of his body also shortened, untill a small boy sat in front of him, with long black hair and rather vivid old bruises and welts on his back, chest and arms, looking at the smooth white skin of his hands in slight wonder.
He then looked up and the breath caught in Sirius' throat.
The boy looked slightly scared. "What's wrong?"
"It's true! It's really you!"
"You – you know me?"
Sirius could only nod. Taking deep calming breath's he said: "Yes. I've been looking for you for years, but never did manage to find you. Your name is Harry. Harry James Potter. I'm your Godfather."
Silence reigned at these words, untill a small children's voice broke the quiet.
"Really?" The voice was laced with so much hope and concealed happiness, that Sirius couldn't keep away the smile.
"Really."
The beaming smile that got onto his Godson's face was enough to make Sirius laugh and he was delighted to hear Harry join him.
"Come on." Sirius said after he'd stopped laughing. "Let's get out of here before we attract every creature in this jungle. But first let's see what's left of my stuff."
Sorting through his stuff, he found one long coat made out of green dragon-leather that only had a gash in the right sleeve and he also found a fairly unbattered pair of pants. The rest of his stuff was torn beyond recognition. Not even a Repairing Charm would work on those anymore.
He handed the leather jacket to Harry to put on, and pulled on the black dragon-leather pants himself, after discarding the torn pants he'd worn.
He turned his attention to his own motor that laid against the root that had become their fall the day before. Gazing towards Slytherin's bike, he made a decision. The guy wouldn't ever need his fuel anymore, so they might as well use it.
Repairing eventual damages to his own motor, he then filled his motor's engine with enough fuel of the other's one to get him to his, probably burned down, cottage. By use of, what else, magic. After finishing with that, he shrunk his motor and put it in his pocket.
Looking over at Harry, he grinned, as the boy looked ridiculous in the overly large coat.
"Let's go." Sirius said, picking up the protesting boy. "I'm not going to let you walk with that leg of yours. Not before a certified Healer has had a good look at it."
Harry then stayed quiet as Sirius carried him to the road, where he put him down on another root for a moment to unshrink his motor and then put the boy on it, sitting down behind Harry and they started towards the cottage.
When they arrived there, firemen and the police were surrounding the smoldering ruins.
As they approached, one of the policemen turned to Sirius and asked a question.
"I'm really sorry, but I only speak English." Sirius said.
"He asked if we lived here." Harry said.
"Oh. Well, tell him that I'd rented the place for two weeks."
Nodding, Harry translated it to the officer. The officer nodded and then asked something again.
"He askes if you know what happened here."
"Just say you were here with me last night when whatever-his-name-is came in and tried to attack us and we fled as he'd set fire to the place."
Harry translated again.
(AN: from now on I'm not going to say everytime that Harry translates. He just does. And Harry's told the officer the name of his 'Master': Mr. Snipe.)
"Where is Mr. Snipe now?" The officer asked.
"After we fled, we ended up in the jungle. There we were all attacked by a tiger. Harry and I managed to flee into a tree, but Mr. Snipe was killed. We couldn't do anything. Only this morning did the tiger leave so we could get out of the tree." Sirius said. "And as Harry was injured last night too, I'd like to take him to a doctor. All I need is the fuel I'd burried."
"Burried?"
"Yes. I didn't like the idea of being blown up by accident. By the way, is there anything saved from the fire?"
"No, nothing but burned wood and molten metal. Allright. I do might have some more questions, so..."
"If you have some paper and a pen, I'll write the adress down of a person that's sure to be able to contact me."
Nodding, the officer handed him the requested, and he wrote down the adress of the one that had asked Dumbledore for help. He made a mental note to tell the man about this soon.
Finally having refilled his motor, Sirius and Harry left the ruins of the cottage. They drove very calmly, as neither had helmets (Sirius' one had melted in the fire), and neither was exactly well-dressed either.
"Where are we going?" Harry asked once they were driving again.
"Scotland. That's where my, our, home is. From there, I'll contact a Healer. Or better yet, we can go to Hogwarts..."
They drove on in confortable silence, untill they reached a house in the middle of a city. Sirius drove right into the walled off back-garden, where he shrunk his motor again after picking up Harry.
He knocked on the back-door that was swung open a minute later by a gentle Vietnamese man.
After seeing the child in Sirius' arms, he said: "What happened, Mr. Black?" while moving aside to let them enter.
"By accident, I've found my Godson that's been missing for four years. But he needs to see a Healer, so I wondered if I could use your fireplace to contact Dumbledore?"
"Of course! You can put your Godson on the couch. But have you found out anything about the racers yet?"
"Yes, but it's not promosing." Sirius said, placing Harry on a low couch. "Practically all of the racers I've seen are wizards and witches, so finding the sabotager will be like looking for a needle in a haystack."
"What's a sabotager?" Harry asked.
"It's a person that breaks other people's things to make sure he wins a race or a fight or something like that."
"Oh... Mas – "
"Call him Snipe, Harry, he's not your Master anymore, nor has he been in the past."
"O – Okay, well, M – Snipe always used to do a spell on other people's motors so he would win. Is that the same thing?"
"It sure is, kid. And that finishes the problem, as Snipe is no more. But now I'm going to contact Dumbledore allright?"
Harry nodded.
Sirius then stuck his head into the flames, after throwing in some Floo Powder, calling for Hogwarts.
After his head stopped spinning, Sirius could see the lower part of the Headmaster's office.
"Professor?" He called. "Professor Dumbledore...? Albus!"
Finally, robes neared, then the person wearing them crouched down and Sirius could see the twinkling light blue eyes of the Headmaster.
"Good afternoon, Sirius. Any news?"
"Yes, double good news. But I'll tell you about it when I get back. I need the Portkey, and tell Poppy to prepare for a patient."
"A patient?"
"Yes. But again, I'll tell you when I'm back. It's nothing life-threatening, at least, I should hope not, but he definately needs medical attention. Now could you give me the Portkey?"
"Of course, my boy." The Headmaster stood up and walked away, then came back with a paperweight.
"You know the password, am I right?"
"Of course."
The wize Headmaster then nodded and used his wand to float the paperweight so Sirius could grab it in his mouth. "I'll await your arrival. And I have a surprise for you when you're here."
Sirius nodded his agreement, then pulled his head back, silently wondering what surprise Albus could have for him.
"What did you do?" Harry asked.
Sirius took the paperweight from his mouth. "You never saw anyone use Floo Powder before?"
Harry shook his head.
"Floo Powder is used to travel from fireplace to fireplace. You can also talk to someone via the fireplace if you just stuck your head into it. That's what I did. I got us a Portkey, as you can't use Floo Powder to get from one country to another. You need a special Portkey to do that without getting into any trouble. And a Portkey is an object that is enchanted to make one or more persons travel from one place to another in a matter of seconds."
"Oh..." Harry said, letting the information sink in.
"We'll be going now, Mr. Sayuki, it's nice having met you." Sirius said, shaking hands with the considerably smaller man.
"It's the same for me. Maybe we'll see eachother again."
"Maybe." Sirius picked up Harry again. "Now, Harry, all you need to do is touch this paperweight. One finger is enough. Bye Mr. Sayuki."
"Bye Mr. Black, Harry."
"Bye." Harry said, before Sirius tapped the paperweight, saying: "Padfoot."
They were whisked away in a swirl of colours.
/\\/\
That's it for now. The next chapter will either be in one or in two weeks. Hope you enjoyed it... And please leave this nice author a review?