Chapter 4. time to clear his name
Magical menagerie, Diagon alley, July 31st 1993
While the unspeakables worked tirelessly to solve the double-minded wizard's time travelling problem, said wizard and his elf had more pressing matters to deal with. Two weeks on the run started taking their tole on Marcus: cantering around as a dog on hard concrete of the city made his hands and feet caloused; proper food became increasingly difficult to come by, even with Alexas creativity; sleeping in the tent in parks and forests was as dangerous as staying in the open, with ever present threat of a dementor recognizing his unglamored face at night. In other words, Marcus Longhurst's life in Sirius Blacks body was downright unbarable. To top it all, his attempt to rescue (or at least meet) his not godson Harry Potter turned into a disaster, from which he barely escaped alive.
Flashback
Magnolia crescent, Surrey, July 20th 1993
"are you sure?" – Alexa asked timidly, staring Marcus straight in the eye. The wizard just shrugged: "no time like the present." The nagging at the back of his mind lead him to Harry Potter, against the protests from his real consciousness and the elf. An hour or so earlier, hiding in the hedges of number 4 Privet drive (the address of Boy who lived's childhood home became a public secret days after the war) in his animagus form, Marcus could not help but shudder at drunken voices coming from the house. even being quite a party lion himself, more so after a successful flying competition or at every start of a new season, he despised brawls, shouting matches and every such nonsense. And when the one screaming was (his?) godsons worst abuser, a part of his that was Sirius wanted nothing more than to snatch the child and run, run, run as fast and far as possible. The feeling only intensified when Harry's aunt Marge, blind drunk and inflated as a balloon, floated out the door and into the garden trees. Moments later, trunk in hand and owl cage in another, a skinny child bolted out, followed by threats and cries of outrage. The animagus leapt after him, but Alexa grabbed his tail and popped to a curb on Magnolia Crescent.
"any time now", - Alexa muttered, a suttle signal for Marcus to assume his dog form again. Somehow his elf knew what the wizard didn't, to his utter astonishment. True to her words, Harry came running not long after, flaming determination in his eyes. The boy stopped mere meters short of the building Marcus was hiding behind; the dog emerged tentatively, the ever ready elf at his side. They would have succeeded and aperated as far as Alexa's magic allows, if not for two things happening at once. Harry, too high on adrenalin and scared of what he thought to be an illusion, accidentally called the Knight bus and rode away. Then, Marcus felt it, a looming presence high in the night sky – a dementor scouting the neighbourhood for Sirius Black…
End flashback
For the past ten days that horrible memory, as well as knowledge of a sole reason Harry Potter was left with the Dursleys (the name alone made not Sirius shiver), lead the unusual pair through city streets and villages, Diagon alley shops and Hogsmeade establishments, through their wild goose chase for any clues, anything to clear Black's name. until absolutely accidentally, scouring the backyard of a bakery in Diagon for yesterdays bread, while Alexa ran around the grocery shops, Marcus overheard someone inside the shop mentioning an old rat. Throwing all caution to the wind, he transformed instantly and called the elf.
"it's him", - the thought struck as a lightning, just after a glance at the animal. Slumbering on the shoulder of an unmistakable Weasley boy (these fiery red hair stood in the crowd as a torch) was Peter Pettigrew, aka Wormtail, aka the traitor, and a thousand other names. Again, Sirius's mind took over, and the now enraged dog made a leap for the unsuspecting criminal. If not for a leash suddenly appearing around his neck, the other end grasped firmly in elf's hand, Sirius Black could have made short work of the rodent…
"no, Paddy, no!" – Alexa shrieked, straining to hold the furious animagus back. She turned to the stunned Weasleys: "sorry sirs, madam, he can be… excited sometimes." When the redheaded gang was out of earshot, no doubt gossiping about a strange elf, said creature put a privacy charm and rounded on the dog: "don't you dare ruin our plan, got it?! if you mess it up, we will stay on the run til a dementor finds you! Now stay calm and follow me!" paddy (he will make sure to get the elf for that name!) wimpered but obeyed. After all, they had some redheads to tail.
Some time and a lot of weaving through the crowds later, the dog and his elf entered the Magical menagerie, moments after the Weasleys. Presenting Marcus as an oversized crup to anyone asking, Alexa headed straight for the counter, before seemingly leaving Paddy alone for a while. The bottle of rat tonic Ron (due to Sirius's memories, the wizard could recall his name easily) was about to purchase, shimmered ever so slightly with elven switching spell. Instead of energizing potion, the boy would buy a sleeping draught in the same fial, then give it a try before even exiting the shop. As expected, the rat fell asleep in seconds, tumbling down from Ron's shoulder straight into Marcus's waiting teeth. Ignoring Weasley style cries and curses thrown his way, the dog bolted out, swung round the shop, gave Peter to the elf and reappeared through the back door, this time as a man. Everything that left was popping the rat into a holding cell at the ministry, leaving a note for whoever worked as the head for Magical law enforcement, and waiting for capable aurors to deal with everything else. In other words, it was time for clearing Sirius Black's name.