Disclaimer: I am neither J.K. Rowling nor anyone else that can legally claim Harry Potter. This is merely a work of fanfiction.
Warnings: AU, future Slytherin!Harry, possible slash later in the story, future Grey!Harry likely, and this is my first real story
Enjoy the real chapter 2! Please don't kill me for deleting the original, if you liked that, and don't kill me for the long wait, either… *puppy dog eyes*
~From Eventide to Daybreak: Chapter 2~
Sirius landed the bike on a street near to his parents' old home, and rode grounded the rest of the way. Parking the bike across from the house, he took Harry out and carried him inside. He wasn't sure why, but for some reason Sirius felt compelled to be quiet, so he made sure to walk softly up the stairs. Harry, somehow having fallen asleep, was curled against his shoulder. As he went up the stairs, he suddenly paused when he realized he could hear faint snoring just to his right.
It's as if there's a portrait on the wall, here… Looking over, he squinted in the dim moonlight and could see an outline of a large portrait. Pulling out his wand with one hand, he whispered, "Lumos," putting as little power into as possible so as to not disturb the portrait. What he saw made his eyes widen, and he quickly extinguished the light. He froze, hardly breathing, but when it was clear his dear mother's portrait hadn't stirred, he relaxed in relief. The last thing he needed was his bitch of a mother, apparently not as gone as he'd hoped, waking and causing a scene, likely scaring – and scarring – Harry more than he already was.
With that sobering thought, he pulled in a shuddering breath, and pressed on up the stairs to his room. He wasn't sure what the future would hold for Harry and himself… he could barely even think about it like that, because it still hadn't even fully settled in his mind that two of his dearest friends, James and Lily, were gone. On top of that, even Voldemort seemed to have disappeared – he was after Harry, after all, and yet here he was, safe, in Sirius' arms.
When Sirius had arrived at the doorway of his room, still holding the sleeping Harry, he went inside and cast a quick one-handed Scourgify to clear all the dust out of the room. He also gave a wave of his wand to straighten out the covers of his bed, and gently laid Harry down at the center of it. He tenderly brushed a lock of Harry's hair from his face, and thought fiercely to himself, I won't let anything happen to you, Harry.
Quietly, making sure Harry was well asleep, he backed out of the room and pulled the door nearly shut. He peeked into the crack to make sure Harry still hadn't stirred, then walked a bit farther down the hallway, away from dear Walburga Black's accursed portrait, but not far enough that Sirius couldn't still hear Harry if he woke.
"Kreacher!" Sirius barked quietly, honestly wondering if the pathetic elf were still here. Apparently he was, because only a second had passed before the shriveled, tiny creature popped in front of him – loudly.
"Shhh!" Sirius sounded immediately, pressing his finger to his lips with a glare. It was just in time, too, because it was clear that the elf had been about to exclaim something likely not-very-respectful to his unwanted master, but was unwillingly silenced by the order. The elf pursed his lips and glared balefully at him, while Sirius tilted his head and listened to hear if Harry had been disturbed. It seemed not.
Sirius redirected his attention to the wrinkled elf, and fiercely whispered, "Listen, here, Kreacher. I don't like you, and you don't like me, but that doesn't change the fact that I am your master, Lord Black, and you must do as I say. I'm only going to say this once, so listen good. I'm here with my godson, Harry Potter. I'm not going to stay any longer than absolutely necessary. While we're here, and, in fact, after we leave, you will not try to harm Harry, whether directly or indirectly, and you will let no one know of our presence here unless I permit it. I don't care what you do around the house, so long as it's nothing harmful to anyone or anything – you can stay out of my way the entire time, doing us both the favor of not having to see each other. Harry's asleep right now – don't do anything to wake him. Do I make myself clear?"
Kreacher's lip curled up at the thought of having to do anything the disgrace of his mistress's told him to do, but he nodded reluctantly.
"Good. Now get out of my sight." And Kreacher popped away again – although quieter this time, so apparently his order to not wake Harry stuck.
Sirius sighed, rubbing a hand down his face, and leaned against a wall. He closed his eyes, and the images of the Potter home and the lifeless expressions of his friends flashed in his mind. Opening his eyes again, he swallowed thickly, feeling the anger at his f… at Wormtail's betrayal. At the same time, he felt responsible for their deaths – after all, he was the one who'd suggested the switch of Secret Keepers. He was sorely tempted yet again to track the rat down and kill him for what he'd done, but he remembered his promise to James and Lily – that he would take care of Harry as if he were his own son, and his earlier promise to Harry – that he wouldn't let anything happen to him. He couldn't possibly abandon him, now.
He shoved off the wall and walked back to his old room, and upon entering just stared at his sleeping godson. He felt lost. Where was he to go from here? He pulled out a chair and flopped into it, trying to push back his feelings and think logically what he should do next.
Sleep. He should definitely sleep, first, hard as it may be. After that… he would need to find a place to live. No doubt his old place would be watched like a hawk by someone – whether that be the Order, Aurors, or even Death Eaters, he didn't really know, but he was certain going back there would be a bad idea. How would he find a place, though? He couldn't leave Harry here by himself…
Remus. He could try to ask Remus for help… but no… How could Remus possibly want to help him? He had to know that they had suspected him to be spy, because of his lycanthropy. Sirius was miserable. He had misjudged and underestimated his friends so much… He had to try. He had to beg his forgiveness, even if he didn't really deserve it. He had to try, because Harry needed help, and Sirius couldn't do this on his own.
It was settled, then. He would sleep, and try to contact Remus tomorrow morning to see if he could stay with Harry while he tracked down a villa. France. That's where he'd look. He'd look for a villa in France… He'd have to make a withdrawal from the French branch of Gringott's after finding it, rather than purchasing it through credit… He would need to withdraw a bit extra to live on, as well…
Sirius' thoughts ran on this vein for awhile, as he stood and partially undressed for bed. Really, all he did was take off his shoes and his Muggle button-up shirt, before gently crawling onto the right side of the bed. He cast another spell, this one being the same as one he put on his bike's side car, to be sure Harry didn't fall out of bed – even though it was unlikely due to the bed's size. At that very moment, Harry stirred and blinked his vivid green eyes open to peer at his godfather.
He blinked at Sirius, yawned, and mumbled something like, "Pa'foo?" tiredly. Sirius smiled weakly at him, forcing his eyes to not well up with any tears. "Hey, kiddo," he said softly. "Go back to sleep, okay? You'll be alright." Harry looked at him, an unfathomable expression on his face, making Sirius wonder what he was thinking about. Harry's bottom lip trembled, and Sirius' heart broke as he recognized the remembrance in Harry's eyes. Harry clutched at Sirius' undershirt and curled up into his chest, sniffling.
Sirius' eyes slipped closed, again seeing in his mind's eye the devastation he had taken Harry out of. He pulled in a shuddering breath, trying to reign in his emotions for Harry's sake, and, tucking his wand up into his sleeve, he wrapped his other arm around Harry and ran his fingers through his hair, whispering what were hopefully comforting things to him.
As Harry's sniffles slowly receded, Sirius sighed, and tried to relax and prepare himself for restless night. It would be hard to sleep knowing everything that had happened… but he did his best, taking comfort in that there was a miracle child asleep in his arms.
~TBC~
Word count: 1,464
So I know I said in my hiatus note that the real chapter two would skip ahead a few years… Well, my muse had other ideas. So this would –finally! – be chapter two, in all its single-time edited glory. Hope you liked it. I actually didn't have writer's block this time, as the second sentence in this note suggests. I'm very, very sorry to have kept you guys waiting so long! Sorry the chapter's a bit short. :/
For everyone that has left reviews: thank you very much again! To all my followers: I'm so grateful and amazed at the response to this story… I honestly didn't really think it was very good, but obviously you guys think differently. I was planning on writing it simply for my own sake, but it turned out to be something you enjoy, as well.
Don't forget! If you're going to leave a review, please sign in if you can, so I can answer you properly! I always try to answer promptly. :)
Love you guys!
Tasha
P.S. – I still only have vague ideas of where this story will end up, so finishing it completely is still up in the air. I do, however, have the next chapter mapped out, and it just needs to be written. I'll write it as soon as I have time. Thank you!
P.P.S. – Remember to tell me whether you want dark or grey!Harry, whether you want there to be any slash in the story (which if it's a fairly unanimous "No" it still may not make a difference – if it just flows into the story naturally, then it's gonna be there – I will warn you if that happens, though), any plot suggestions, etc. Also know this: My story is ruled by the natural flow of things. I'm making this up as I go along, so whatever flows goes (within reason, of course lol).