"Sirius? What're you doin' here?" Hagrid asked as he stood up to his full height among the rubble, with Harry in his arms. He'd never been able to stand up full height in the Potter's cottage before, but with the roof being almost completely gone, it was no longer an issue.
"Hagrid…" Sirius replied in a dead voice, not noticing the baby. "James and Lily…"
Hagrid shook his head, his eyes filled with tears threatening to spill. "I didn' see them. I think they-"
Sirius interrupts him with a scream of pain, falling to his knees and clutching at his own hair. "No! No, they can't be gone! How did... how could he do this?"
"You-Know-Who killed a lot o' people. He did it plenty o' times."
"Not him… Peter." He spat the name out like venom, and threw his fists on the ground, sinking lower. "I'll kill him. I'll kill that little rat bastard."
"Wha? Pe'igrew? Wha's he got to do with James an' Lily?"
"He was their Secret Keeper, Hagrid… Everyone thought it would be me, so Dumbledore suggested we use Peter… How could we have been so stupid?"
"Secret Keeper? Why were they so deep in hidin'? Not even Dumbledore is usin' one of those."
"There…" Sirius took a deep breath, before remembering what James once told him about the Half-Giant. Hagrid has such a pure soul, from so many years of torment, that there's no way he can ever betray the loyalty of his friends. I don't see it being in his blood, Sirius. If there's anybody we can always trust, it wouldn't be Dumbledore or even Mad-Eye. It would be Hagrid.
Sirius sighed, his soul feeling like a weight inside his ribcage thinking about James. "There was some kind of prophecy… I didn't understand most of it, but it had something to do with taking down He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. It had to do with a child, a child with unimaginable power, born at the end of July. It could have been Neville Longbottom, but somehow You-Know-Who chose Harry to be- oh, Merlin, Harry…" Sirius breaks down again, almost entirely on the floor now.
Hagrid, not quite understanding the implications of what Sirius was telling him, simply held out his arms. "Harry's righ' here, Sirius."
Sirius looked up, his face red and swollen from crying. "H-Harry?" He hiccups, standing up slowly.
He glanced at the sleeping one-year-old being presented to him, in the Half-Giant's arms, and for the first time since he felt – in his soul – James' death, he smiled. He asked, silently, with a gesture of his own arms, to hold him. Hagrid handed over the baby without hesitation.
"I don' understand the prophecy thing, Sirius. All I get is somethin' about a child with power. Are you sayin' that Harry killed You-Know-Who?"
"I don't know, Hagrid." Sirius sighed, and placed a kiss on Harry's forehead, failing to notice the scar in the dark. "I'm just happy he's safe."
"Well, Professor Dumbledore wan's me to take him over to Surrey… Somethin' about his aunt an' uncle, Lily's sister and brother-in-law."
"What?!" Sirius yelled, then suddenly remembered he had a sleeping child in his arms, who was stirring at the sound of his "Uncle Padfoot". "He wants them with those monsters?"
"They may be Muggles, Sirius, but I don' think tha' makes them monsters." Hagrid frowned.
"No, Hagrid, you don't understand. They're monsters. Lily's sister used to torment her for having magic, and she said they've never changed. Apparently, her husband is even worse. There's no way they won't abuse him, Hagrid. You can't let Dumbledore do this."
"Abuse him?" Hagrid looked horribly angry. "There's no way Professor Dumbledore would let him be in a home like tha'… I don' think he would ever put Harry in harm's way like tha', Sirius."
"And yet here he is, trying to let those monsters take my boy." Sirius pulls Harry closer to him, resting the boy's head on his shoulder. "You're not bringing him to Dumbledore if that's his plan."
"I…" Hagrid faltered. He almost wanted to take the child by force – he did, of course, need to follow what Dumbledore asked of him, but something stopped him. Maybe it was the fact that he now remembered, vaguely, an eleven-year-old Lily coming to his hut crying about how much she wished she wasn't a witch because her sister hates her. Maybe it was the fact that Sirius looked more angry and hurt about this idea than Hagrid had seen him since he heard, mid-Order meeting, about the death of Regulus.
Or maybe it was seeing Harry's reaction to being on Sirius' shoulder. Even unconscious, baby Harry recognized the scent and feel of his godfather, and curled a little fist on Sirius' shirt, snuggling into his neck, cooing in his sleep.
"I don' know what to do, Sirius." Hagrid's resolve broke, and he looked down at his feet. "I wan' Harry to be safe, an' I trust Professor Dumbledore, but this feels wrong."
"I'll take him."
Hagrid looked up at him, and Sirius' face, even though it was looking at Harry, betrayed the emotions he had every right to feel; defeat, anger, brokenness, betrayal, loss, but also determination, adoration, love. He ruffled the untidy hair of the baby in his arms before looking directly at Hagrid.
"I'll take him. I'll bring him to the Longbottom's. They can help me keep him safe…" He let out a forced laugh. "Hell, I guess they'll help me raise him too. I don't know a damn thing about children."
"Are you sure you wan' to do this, Sirius? We migh' be able to ask Professor Dumbledore for another plan."
"When has Albus Dumbledore ever changed his mind on something without someone intervening and throwing off his plans, Hagrid?" Sirius' tone was suddenly colder than it had been. "I don't think he'd change his mind unless Frank and Alice and I made him change his mind. I think this has to be done."
Hagrid stayed silent for a moment, thinking.
"I can't let him put Harry with those damned Muggles, Hagrid. I just can't. We can't. You have to let me take him to Frank and Alice and Augusta. You know those three can protect him even better than hiding him in the Muggle world can."
Hagrid finally nodded. "Alrigh'. But you have to explain to Professor Dumbledore why I have to go back to Surrey withou' Harry."
"Send him to Longbottom Manor, then. He'll deal with us there." Suddenly Sirius reached into his pocket with his free hand and tossed Hagrid a set of keys. "You can take my motorcycle. I can't possibly use it anymore, not without James." His voice broke, but Hagrid only nodded.
"Thanks, Sirius. Will it hold me?"
Sirius had a short, genuine laugh that sounded like a dog barking playfully. "You have no idea the weight that this motorbike has seen. It'll hold you, Hagrid, don't worry."
"Alrigh', I trus' you." Hagrid stumbled down to where Sirius' motorcycle is parked and hesitantly swung a leg over it. When it held steady, he put his full weight on it, and put the keys in the ignition.
Sirius, standing nearby with Harry still sleeping in his arms, called out to Hagrid. "I'll apparate to the Longbottom Manor now. I'll be there by the time you make it back to Surrey."
Neville really enjoyed playing with the Halloween decorations that Frank loved to put in the porch every year, so it was unsurprising to Sirius that when he got to Longbottom Manor, Augusta was sitting outside with him.
"Sirius? Is that you, my boy?" She called out, standing up from her chair and scooping up Neville in one swift move that really should have been slower for a witch her age.
"Augusta, I need your help. Where are Frank and Alice?"
"They're asleep, of course. It's one o'clock in the morning after all."
Sirius could tell Augusta was a bit annoyed at the late-night visit, and he felt a bit bad at first.
Then she got a closer look at Sirius' face as he passed through the wards, and noticed him carrying a disheveled-looking baby Harry. She knew then that something dreadful must have happened, and that of course Sirius Orion Black, bless him, would never try to disturb someone in the middle of the night unless it was an emergency. She dropped her annoyed tone and became more of the 'Mama Longbottom' Sirius had come to appreciate since the loss of James' parents. "Come on in, my boy. The fireplace is going and it's warm in here. You two must be freezing. Harry and Neville can have a little snack, and we can wake Frank and Alice to talk."
Sirius nodded, and he followed Augusta into the sitting area, where the fireplace reminded him that he was indeed cold.
"Neville had been fussy all day, you see. I didn't want Frank and Alice to lose any more sleep than they have been, with all that worrying and working they have been doing. So when he got up around half-past twelve, I got up with him and told Alice to go back to sleep. I thought he might want some fresh air." Augusta sat a now-sleepy Neville down on the couch as she spoke.
She turned to Sirius and opened her arms to take Harry. Instead of handing him over, however, he instinctively pulled Harry closer to himself and burst into tears.
Augusta swept Sirius into a hug, trying not to wake the baby in the process, and rubbed his back soothingly. Obviously, this was way worse than she anticipated. She figured something was very wrong since Sirius had Harry and there was no sign of James or Lily. But most of all, Sirius hated to cry in front of people. She had only ever seen the boy cry once, and that was when, in the middle of an Order meeting, he learned of the death of his brother Regulus. He didn't even have the energy to get up and leave, he just started sobbing on James' shoulder and most other people excused themselves for a break.
After a few minutes of soothing, Augusta loosened her hug, and carefully took Harry out of Sirius' arms. The baby stirred, and his eyes opened.
It was at this point that Sirius noticed the scar across his forehead, and so did Augusta.
"Sirius… what happened?" Augusta asked in a pained voice, brushing Harry's untidy hair out of his eyes as the boy smiled at her.
"I… I think we should wake up Frank and Alice first." Sirius responded as he took Harry back, who immediately squealed in delight and started grabbing at Sirius' hair. "I'll watch the boys if you can go get them."
She nodded, and she went to the stairs, pausing only to silently look at Sirius, sitting on the couch with Harry climbing on his lap and Neville joining him, and wonder forlornly if any of their lives will ever be the same.
