Disclaimer: I do not own anything of this story. Harry Potter and all of the notable characters belong to J.K. Rowling.

Magnolia Crescent

Chapter Sixteen

The Travels of Black

Sirius pointed Buckbeak towards the ground. They landed on the roof of Number 12, Grimmauld Place. He quickly escorted his traveling companion into the house before any Muggles could see. Sirius sneered as he looked around the house, it lit up a bit as Kreacher appeared, snarling at the sight of Sirius.

"Welcome back, Master," he said with a light bow.

"Despicable reminder," Sirius growled, stomping over the house elf, not even wanting to look at the ancient servant. He stormed up to his room, knelt by the bed and began feeling under the mattress until he found he target. He smirked as he pulled out his wand and turned it over in his fingers. A sudden memory came upon him and he frowned. Twelve years ago, when he first confronted Peter, he had used James' wand. Unfortunately, it was broken now because the Ministry fools thought it was his. He pocketed his wand, standing to his feet.

"Best not dilly dally. Brom should know about Harry's recent transformation," Sirius mused, messing with his beard in thought. "Perhaps a haircut and shave first." He made his way to the bathroom, scratching his head as he inspected himself. He took great pride in his appearance and used his wand to remove the unwanted facial hair, returning it to his preferred goatee.

"Magic, how I miss thee," he chuckled, kissing his wand. He showered, savoring the hot water, before taking pleasure in burning his prison clothes. He snorted at the smell of mothballs as he adjusted the collar and vest of one of his father's old outfits. Satisfied, he silently headed to the basement kitchen, being followed equally as silent by Buckbeak. He chuckled, opening the fridge and tossing a large turkey leg to the hippogriff and grabbed himself a half-eaten sandwich.

"Can't believe that's still good," he chuckled after taking a bite. He shrugged as he finished the sandwich he had started nearly thirteen years ago. "Thank you, magic. I thought I would never get to finish that sandwich." Sirius chuckled once more as he bowed to the hippogriff. "Well, how about a decent rest because we've got a long trip ahead of us. Up for a trip across the ocean?" he smiled. Buckbeak chirped and followed Sirius to the bedroom.

"Wee!" Sirius called as they crossed the Atlantic Ocean. At first, their trip had been highly entertaining but after a while, he got very bored and saddle sore. Hippogriff riding was obviously not for long distances. He looked over the wings of the animal, wondering if it would be more eventful to swim when he finally noticed the landmark he had been looking for. "Hello, Lady Liberty. How poetic, huh, Buckbeak?" he asked, patting the animal's side. "Well, let's head south, my fine feathered friend. Time to meet an old buddy of mine in Salem." Sirius smirked as the hippogriff started to descend.

Sirius hopped off, allowing Buckbeak to rest his wings. He tapped the animal on the head with his wand, casting a Disillusionment Charm, and walked into the small American town of Salem. He frowned when he realized that he didn't know how to tell Brom about the current problem.

"Heh, ah, listen. You know that murder I was accused of? Well, they were wrong and I am innocent," he tried. "That sounds so lame. I can't just walk in like that. Damn, where's an owl when you need one?" Sirius asked, looking around. He sighed, moving down the street to an old, worn-down school house. The red paint was faded and chipping, coming as no surprise as it was one of the old one-room types. He took out his wand and tapped the door. It opened up and a staircase appeared below it, descending into the darkness. He was heading down when he was approached.

"Can I help you?" came the voice of an old woman. Sirius frowned as she lit an oil lamp. She was wrinkled and wearing an old maid's dress.

"Yes, I am here to see Headmaster Brom. I need to speak with him on an important matter," Sirius explained. The woman frowned but didn't move.

"May I ask who it is? Before I interrupt the Headmaster of the Salem Witches Institute," she said in a controlled but frustrated tone.

"Padfoot," Sirius replied. The woman nodded as she motioned a wrinkly hand for him to follow. She led him down a short corridor until they reached a spiral staircase. The wood gave way to nothing as she led him up the stairs. He looked around and saw the whole town below as they ascended. "Nice view," he commented. The stairs finally ended on grass.

The American schools were much different. Britain had castles and many places where Muggles didn't go. America had no such places, making schools harder to place. To compensate, they placed the school in the sky. Every week, a group of wizards would show up to make sure all the wards making it so were still in place. The school was unlike Hogwarts; it was very bright and much smaller because of its placement. He walked through the halls to see that most of the students were sporting Muggle clothing; there were no uniforms, whatsoever. Most of the staff members, however, still wore robes traditional to wizards.

They made their way through the crowded school. Nobody seemed to pay him much more than a glance. Americans, especially students, didn't really care too much about criminals from other nations. So it didn't surprise him too much when nobody recognized him. They entered into the main office and after a quick word with the secretary, he was pushed into Brom's office.

Brom was in many ways Dumbledore's opposite. He was much younger with brown hair and a goatee. If you looked hard enough, you could see some grey coming in. He was a bit darker than most but could still be recognized as Caucasian. His brown eyes and build were a bit more broad; not as skinny as most wizards. He wore a brown coat and dark green undershirt with a simple chain necklace. Brom looked up from his work, instantly recognizing Sirius.

"Padfoot," he smiled, standing to give the man a firm handshake.

"Talonclaw," Sirius returned as released the grip.

"Please, take a seat. What brings you to America? Last I heard, you were caught up in some war. Didn't really bother to keep up with it after that," Brom said with a frown. Sirius rolled his eyes; typical Americans. Unlike the government, most American cared very little about other nation's troubles, let alone their own.

"Well, we won for now, in case you're interested. A false imprisonment and a recent release have given me some free time," Sirius replied with a smile, taking a seat in front of the man's desk. Brom nodded as a flash of concern fell away from his face.

"Sorry to hear about all that, but you are out and that's what is important," Brom stated, nodding as he sat back down at his desk. "Rather surprised the government or the media hasn't made some big stink about it." He shrugged.

"I am sure you'll hear about it in the news soon enough," Sirius smirked. "Now then, I am afraid my reasons for coming here are not as friendly as I would like," he sighed. Brom frowned as he turned serious.

"Nothing illegal, I hope," Brom said, raising an eyebrow. Sirius shook his head, allowing Brom to relax a bit.

"Well, not in America anyway," he admitted. Unlike the Ministry of Magic in Britain, the American's were much looser on magic. In fact, an Animagus had next to no restrictions and even being unregistered would only get you a slap on the wrist. "I recently taught my godson how to shift. Much to my delight and surprise, he shifted into a dog," Sirius explained. Brom brightened a bit at that. "However, something happened the other day. He shifted successfully, but into something very different from his dog form – a white snake."

"Interesting," the American mused, rubbing his goatee as he stared off into space. "Well, there are multiple probabilities. If I remember correctly, and this godson of yours is who I think he is, Harry Potter, correct?" Brom asked. Sirius nodded as the man returned to motion. "Well, the most likely, if not most improbable, would be he is a PolyAnimagi. This, in layman's terms, means a wizard who can turn into many different animals." Brom smiled at this idea. "They are very rare and I have only met one in my lifetime," he smiled.

"Really? I have never heard of them," Sirius thought aloud.

"That's because in America, it's not as big a deal to be one, so we have people always researching. They pop up once every generation or so. I believe we would see more if some governments didn't put so many restrictions on them," Brom said, glowering. "Anyway, this is also shown to happen to people who are spilt in who they are and who they think they are. Maybe Harry is feeling conflicted between what makes him a dog and what makes him a snake," Brom explained. "So, we have different explanations and I feel only time will tell which is true. Tell your godson there is nothing to worry about," Brom finished with a smile.

"Thanks, to be honest, I was worried. With Voldemort's symbol being a snake and nobody sure what happened the night he attacked," Sirius trailed off, pausing to take a breath. "Well, I think he was worried about some cruel influence from that dark wizard."

"Well, Sirius, if that's the case, it wouldn't be impossible for there to be some connection between the two. Life and death situations have a cruel way of connecting people. Now, I wouldn't bring it up if I didn't think it's possible, but that could also be a reason for the snake transformation. But still, Harry should be fine all the same."

"Thanks for being honest and up front, Brom," Sirius smiled.

"I do hope he is a PolyAnimagi, though. The idea of finding another one and trained by the man I trained. Oh, the pride as a teacher would grow," he smiled. Sirius braced himself as Brom had a habit of talking about the magic of an Animagi. The hours began to tick away as Brom continued to talk.

"And low and behold, not even a week later, I got all sorts of letter claiming to be Animagi with the form of a dragon," Brom chuckled. "Bold claims, but it would take a person beyond the average wizard to turn into that," he explained.

"Well, you never know. Magical creatures are not impossible. We have had people who can cast them in a Patronus and they often reflect your Animagus form."

"True," Brom admitted, reaching into his desk and pulling out a wooden pipe. "It would be interesting to see how that would affect a man's life span if he were a phoenix. Ah, what a curious idea," he smiled, pulling on his pipe. Suddenly, the grandfather clock chimed. The two men glanced over at the brick wall to see the clock hands pointing at nine.

"Look at the time. We have been talking for a while," Sirius said in realization. Well, mostly Brom talked while Sirius listening, only giving his input on occasion.

"Too bad, I really was enjoying the company. You know, it has been a while since I visited Dumbledore," he smiled fondly. "Has he been busy?"

"Not that I know of, but he will be soon. If my memory serves correct, we should be having the Triwizard Tournament and I do believe its Hogwarts turn to host," Sirius explained.

"Really?" Brom said, clearly interested in the contest. "Well then, if there is nothing else, Padfoot, I would imagine you would like to head home," he replied, emptying his pipe. Sirius nodded, shaking his hand.

Sirius exited the office, swearing to himself that the man was chuckling. He shrugged it off, leaving the school the same way he entered. On his way down, he glanced up at the night sky and took in the stars and moon before him. He missed the nights like these; it reminded him of the good old days where they would camp out with Lupin during the full moon. Sirius continued down and made his way back to the small town. He breathed in the crisp air and approached the hippogriff. He gave a low bow and saw it returned as he glanced around the area.

He shifted into a dog, turning three times before curling up next to the feathered creature. Sirius breathed in the night air. Normally, the ground would be too hard, the wind too cool or even the animals around him too loud. But tonight was one of the best in recent memory. He was a free man. He closed his eyes, think of Dumbledore and Harry. If he was going to win Dumbledore over, he was going to need to bring his A game. Which meant he needed Harry to talk to Dumbledore with him. He had no doubt he could get Harry to stay with him, even if Dumbledore fought against him. However, making an enemy of the great Albus Dumbledore was not something even the stupidest convict would do. So, he curled up and pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

Well, I hope you guys like our newest OC, Brom. In my mind, he's a quirky character and I hope SWD sees him as such as well. Brom won't have too much of an appearance for the rest of PoA, but he will definitely show up for GoF. R&R as always and the next chapter will be up next week!

~LE