Date: 31 July, 1982
Sirus
Sirius Black had had enough. One year after watching his godson suffer at the hands of the Dursleys, he had finally decided to rescue Harry. That would make for a nice present for a two-year-old too. So, it was the morning of 31 July when Padfoot (in his dog form) raced over to Number Four, Privet Drive. Just the day before, he had asked Dumbledore if he could adopt Harry, and Dumbledore said yes. After doing all the paperwork, Sirius bought his own house and decorated it with magic - for all he knew, Harry wasn't getting the affection he deserved.
He changed back into his human form and rang the doorbell. There was a shriek, something falling down - closely followed by some uncontrollable sobs. The door opened and Sirius saw a horse-like, bony lady who was surely Lily's sister. The two girls couldn't have been more different.
Petunia Dursley took in his full appearance, from the shoulder-length black hair to the messy robes. Then she said, as coldly as she could, "Who are you?"
Sirius merely grinned. "Sirius Black," he said cheekily, "Coming to take Harry Potter home with me."
Petunia gasped, her expression turning to one of shock. "Yo- you- Vernon!" she called, finally able to say two syllables.
Harry
Dudley was standing on a mini ladder he had wanted, holding Harry high in the air and threatening to let him fall down. The poor boy was yelling in terror - but not too loudly to get Aunt Petunia or Uncle Vernon's attention, of course. Quite suddenly, the doorbell rang, he could hear Aunt Petunia shrieking, and Dudley accidentally (or was it on purpose?) dropped Harry down. He was... almost dying, to say the very least. Harry's skull was shaking, and he felt dizzy. He just managed to let out a few sobs before he blacked out.
Vernon
Called by his wife's scream, Vernon jumped up, walked across the hall - stopping only to ask his son (who had jumped off the mini ladder) if he was okay - and joined Petunia into greeting somebody at the door. He somehow recognized the stranger, but couldn't put his finger on it.
"Vernon!" shrieked Petunia again, looking close to tears. "This- this man- Sirius Black!"
Sirius Black. The name sounded very familiar, it rung a bell, but was still unrecognizable. "And may I ask why you are here?" Vernon said forcefully.
"To take Harry Potter along with me," said Black. Vernon's heart stopped. "I have heard from a reliable source that you have been mistreating him."
"Well take him if you want, he's a freak anywa-"
Petunia cut him off. "Vernon - remember what - remember what - Dumbledore said?" she said shakily.
"Dumbledore changed his mind," said Black. "He wants me to adopt Harry now. The paperwork's ready, now would you PLEASE get out of my way so that I can get my godson to his true home?"
Trembling, Petunia looked at the papers Black handed her. After a few moments, she gave them back, and said, "V-very well." She and Vernon exchanged glances. "Go ahead." And both of them parted to make way for the stranger.
Sirius
Happily, Sirius walked into the hall of the Dursleys. The first thing he saw was an extremely fat boy eating a slice of pizza and watching a cartoon on TV. This was definitely not Harry. The next thing he saw was some blood on the floor. Weird, but also... horrifying. He walked across the hall, and looked at the stairs going upstairs. After checking out both the rooms on the upper floor, Sirius only found toys and no sign of Harry. His last hope was to check a tiny cupboard under the stairs.
Opening it, he saw a tiny boy as thin as a stick. He had messy black hair, and... dirty clothes. The boy seemed to be unconscious. Gasping in horror, the dog Animagus gently lifted the covers and saw traces of blood. Oh no. Harry needed to be taken to the hospital.
xx
Sirius grasped the baby boy in his hands and turned on the spot. Just a moment later, both of them had arrived at St. Mungo's.
There wasn't much of a line today - after all, it was 11 o'clock in the morning on a work day, so godfather and godson didn't have to wait much before walking into the hospital. Sirius's heart was beating wildly.
Harry
"Broken bone... oh, dear... not to worry, not to worry, Mr Sirius, Amelia is the best healer in all of St. Mungo's, she'll get young Harry fixed in no time..."
Harry blinked his eyes open. He was in immense pain. Tears leaked out of his eyes but he hastily wiped them away - Aunt Petunia wouldn't spare him if he was found crying. He looked around. Where was Aunt Petunia, anyway? Everything was so white here, and it smelled cleaner than Number Four, Privet Drive.
A woman with blonde hair suddenly leant over him, and Harry jumped. The woman gasped, and gently put something in the boy's mouth. He flinched when her fingers touched his cheek, but accepted the thing anyway. It was quite minty, actually. He liked it.
A few moments later, Harry drifted off into a dreamless sleep, his body ignoring the stabbing pain in his skull...
Sirius
"He will be okay... right?" said Sirius, worried sick.
"Of course he will," nodded Amelia Lane, one of the best child healers in St. Mungo's. "But it will require at least a week for young Harry to recover. Don't worry, though, he won't have to suffer a lot."
Sirius gulped, nodded and turned back to his godson, who seemed to be waking up.
"W...who you?" said Harry, his eyes blinking open.
"I'm Uncle Sirius, remember? Padfoot?"
"Pa...Padfoot..."
"Yes, you got it!"
"Where Aunt Petunia? Where Duddy?"
"They're not here, Harry. Go to sleep, now."
Sirius took one of the Sleep Mints from the bedside drawer and put it in Harry's mouth. As the boy fell asleep, the Animagus smiled fondly at him. He climbed up to the tearoom, which was mostly empty, and slumped down onto a chair. He remembered Harry's first words...
"Come on Harry, say mama!"
"Lils, this isn't going to work. You'll say dada, won't you, Harry?"
"Oh, you baby-obsessed couple."
"Shut it, Padfoot!"
"Pa..."
"Oooh, baby Harry's gonna say papa?"
"Pafoo!"
"..."
"..."
"Yes!"
"Don't say it..."
"I am the best DOGFATHER in the world!"
"... you said it."
Sirius wiped away a tear at that memory. James and Lily... he couldn't bear to think of them. But, after all, he was the best dogfather in the world. And he would do his best to raise Harry.
