Not seeing a sign of anyone in what looked like the abandoned house, Harry delicately stepped across the room to start exploring. He was getting more nervous by the minute, not just because he was alone in the decrepit space, but because everything around him seemed seeped in dark magic. The very house had a malevolence, as if telling him to get out. The problem was, he had no idea how to get out. The parchment had taken him here. Would it take him back?

Before he could investigate further, he heard a noise behind him. Turning around, it was all he could do not to shrink into the furniture. The man standing at the end of the dark hallway was not wearing the prison rags in his wanted poster, and he was significantly cleaner, but he still looked gaunt and menacing to Harry. It was undeniably Sirius Black, but Harry was trying to decide if that was a good thing.

Harry wanted to speak, but suddenly felt his throat close up. He took a step backward before fully realizing what he was doing. Part of him was curious and the rest just wanted to run. He had not had a clear plan in his head when he contacted his godfather, but this was not how he thought this would go.

"Hey," the man said in a creaky voice. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."

Thinking about the situation that he found himself in made Harry suppress a shudder. He was alone in a falling down house with a man he didn't know, and he didn't know how he'd gotten there or how to leave. The man could be a real Death Eater and Harry would be completely at his mercy.

Sirius seemed to realize what was going through Harry's head, because he slinked around the wall on the edge of the room instead of coming closer. Harry watched him warily. He wanted to trust this man who was his only living relative, even though it seemed like that was a supremely stupid thing to do.

"Harry," Sirius said. "I have missed you so much. I haven't seen you since you were a baby! I have been looking for you since I got out."

The sentence seemed to choke him up, and Harry realized that his godfather must have been a good friend of his parents. He had obviously seen Harry and spent time with him when he was little, before the murders. It made him feel closer to the man in front of him, and also inexpressibly sad. It was a life that he had not been able to have, because of the madman who took it away from him.

"Yeah," Harry said softly. "Sorry, I don't really remember you. I don't remember much from back then."

After making a sort of choking sound, Sirius nodded. "I know. We'll just have to make new memories then."

Sadness seemed to turn a little bit to hope in Harry's heart. Everything still seemed unreal, like a dream. Somehow he did not want to get his hopes up that things would be any better. His life had been so many disappointments. Getting his Hogwarts letter had seemed like an escape, finally, and in a way it was. So much of his life was still the same though. No parents. No home. This was a chance to change that. This man in front of him could change that.

Still wary, Sirius walked closer to Harry as if he were studying him. He seemed to make up his mind about something. He stepped back, and a huge smile took over his face.

"Let's get out of here, then, and get to know each other," he said. "I have never wanted to spend more time in this place than absolutely necessary."

"Oh," Harry said. "This isn't your house then?" That was a relief. The place could use a good scrub, but that wasn't the problem for Harry. It positively reeked of darkness and was giving him the creeps.

"Oh, well," Sirius said with a barking laugh. "It is, I suppose. One of them, anyway. I inherited it from my parents since I am one of the last living Blacks. I definitely would rather stay at some of the other properties that are better cared for and, well, not as dark."

Harry nodded. He realized Sirius must have a lot of money if he had more than one house. That was a relief because Harry did not want to stay in this one any longer than necessary. The fact that he would not be living there was welcome news, even though it meant he still did not know where he was going.

"Where are we?" Harry asked.

"We're in London. This is Grimmauld Place," Sirius laughed again. "A fitting name, I always thought. Some of my ancestors must have had a sense of humor. Anyway, if you are okay with it I will apparate you to my current residence."

"Apparate …" Harry didn't answer or even finish his sentence. He had heard of apparition and knew it was one way wizards traveled, but he had never done it before. Or had he?

"Is that how I got here?" he asked.

"Well, no," Sirius said, "that was a portkey. They are similar processes though. Wizards travel by apparition and portkeys. And the flu, of course, but this place is not on the flu network and neither is where we're going. Security. I am on the run after all."

Harry nodded. That had not been addressed yet. Being alone with an escaped convict was not seeming as scary though now. The more Sirius talked, the more Harry began to trust him. Maybe it was his overall demeanor, or Harry actually did have some latent memories of him as a baby.

"I'm innocent," Sirius said. "I want you to know that I would never betray your parents. That was Peter. He was the Secret Keeper." Sirius sighed, looking sad again and a little lost. "It was my fault. I suggested the switch." He looked at Harry. "It's a long story. How did you know?"

"That you were innocent?" Harry asked. Sirius nodded. "The goblins told me, at least they seemed to think you were wrongly imprisoned. I had never heard of you until this year. I never knew anything about my parents or even that I was a wizard until I got my Hogwarts Letter. I didn't believe Hagrid at first. I thought it was a joke."

"Hagrid?" Sirius asked in confusion and what seemed like concern, wrinkling his brow." He gave you your letter?"

"Yeah," Harry suddenly felt a little embarrassed, and he wasn't sure why. Maybe Sirius wouldn't think he was a real wizard because of how his horrible relatives had treated him, raising him without knowing anything about his heritage. "My uncle, he … well he did not want me to have it."

"I see," Sirius sounded surprised and maybe even worried. "You will have to tell me about him. Your mother's sister? That's where you've been?"

Harry just nodded.

"I see," Sirius repeated. "Harry, I am so sorry. That was not how it was supposed to be. We knew there was a chance they would be killed. They were marked for death, and they went into hiding. But we thought … even if they died, you would be taken care of."

Since Sirius looked like he was about to cry, Harry just nodded. He wanted to say it was okay, but part of him felt like there had to have been another way. He did not know what had happened between Sirius, his parents, and this man Peter. Still, it was hard not to be at least a little angry about it. He had no idea how it was that he had just ended up with this aunt and uncle, instead of another wizarding family.

"Right," Sirius said, as if making a sudden decision. "There will be plenty of time to talk about all of this. And I will make it up to you. I promise. If you are okay with coming with me, let's get out of here. We will make a fresh start, you and me. And I will finally be your godfather. I want to get to know you … again."

Harry wanted to say something about Sirius being an escaped prisoner, but decided not to approach that subject yet. The man must have figured something out, or be working on it. There was not much else for Harry to do, anyway. He had no place else to go.

"Yeah," Harry said. "Let's go. I want to get to know you better too."

"Great!" Sirius clapped his hands together. "Well, then, have you ever apparated before?" He must have figured by Harry's questions that the answer would be negative.

Harry shook his head, suddenly nervous about feeling a sensation similar to the squeezing that had gotten him here. If he was going to be a wizard he would have to get used to it. Portkeys and apparition were just facts of life. Harry had only traveled through the flu once, and it had been a disaster. The portkey had worked well enough, so maybe apparition would go smoothly.

"Okay," Sirius said. "Hold on to my arm. It's better if you just close your eyes and take a deep breath. It only takes seconds, just like the portkey. Don't let go though. Let me know when you're ready."

"Alright," Harry said, gingerly stepping over to put his hand on the man's elbow. He looked less scary up close, giving Harry a warm smile. "I'm ready."

"Great!" Sirius said enthusiastically. "Off we go!"

Harry kept his eyes closed tight and a tight grip too on Sirius. Before he knew it, he felt his feet on the solid ground again and sighed in relief. Then he opened his eyes and looked around. The difference was night and day from the place he was now to the place he had just left. He was instantly relieved.

"Wow," Harry said softly, looking around him at the new room.

It was some kind of study, judging by the comfortable chairs and large, oaken desk. The entire room was decorated in rich wood tones with thick rugs on the wooden floor, with the furniture all in forest green and burgundy or leather. There were wooden bookshelves around the edges of the room with what looked like a variety of older leather volumes. Even though it was summer, a healthy fire was blazing in a large fireplace large enough for a grown man to stand up in. Harry decided instantly that he liked this room.

"Welcome to Constellation Manor," Sirius said. "This has always been my favorite of the Black properties. It's not the oldest or the largest, but it is the coziest. It belonged to one of my cousins until recently. I looked them up when I got … out. They passed away a few years ago so this house is in better shape than some of the others. That and the house elves are saner."

Harry nodded, thinking of his interactions with Dobby last year. He was not sure he wanted to have any interactions with a house elf anytime soon. He couldn't deny that the house was in good shape though. It looked like heaven to a boy who had lived most of his life at the Dursleys in the summer. Hogwarts was great, but it wasn't a cozy home like this.

"Would you like a tour of your new home?" Sirius asked, and Harry was nodding vigorously before he finished the sentence.

"This place is amazing," Harry said, after Sirius had shown him the library, parlour, game room, and even the large kitchen where a half dozen house elves in pristine tea towels were working.

"Let's go upstairs," Sirius said. "You can choose a bedroom. I haven't had time to properly prepare for your arrival, unfortunately. I did have all the bedrooms opened up and refreshed. You can take your pick. We'll decorate it later however you want."

Trying not to gawk at that information, Harry followed Sirius up a grand winding staircase that had a thick gold runner. He still could not believe that he was going to live here, and he would have a bedroom. He had never really had his own bedroom, after living in the cupboard under the stairs and then stuffed in Dudley's second bedroom with all of his broken toys and furniture.

"Well," Sirius said when they reached the first floor. "I guess I should show you where my room is. Then you can look around and decide which one you want. There are about a dozen bedrooms on this floor but they are all a little different. There are two more floors, but I would prefer you to be on the same floor as me in case you need anything."

"Okay," Harry said softly.

"This is my room," Sirius said, opening the door to a room at the end of the hall. Harry looked inside to see a large four-poster bed and other furniture all in the same wood tones as the library. The bed had thick red velvet curtains pulled back. It looked luxurious and cozy at the same time. Harry suddenly realized he still did not know what country they were in. They might have left London, but to where?

"Sirius," Harry asked. "Where are we, exactly?"

"Scotland," Sirius answered. "We're a few miles from the nearest settlement and it's mostly muggle, but there is a little village nearby. The house itself has quite a bit of land around it. I can't remember the exact acreage. There are no close neighbors. Some woods, a lake, and a few small ponds. It also has the strongest wards my ancestors could build and I will be adding a few too. Once I get my strength back a bit."

Upon hearing that, Harry realized that Sirius seemed a bit weaker than he had when Harry had first seen him pop into the room at the mouldy old house. He grew concerned.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked.

"Oh sure," Sirius said in a reassuring tone. "It just took a little wind out of me to apparate with you. I was living … not the healthiest lifestyle for the past few years. I am getting stronger every day though."

That was good news to Harry, who did not want to think about what living in prison for a decade could do to a person. Sirius seemed cheerful and Harry could tell that normally he would be an energetic person.

"I'm glad you're going to be okay," Harry said quietly.

"Don't worry, I will be," Sirius grinned at him. "I'm taking potions and getting a lot of rest and good nutrition. I already feel loads better."

Sirius must have seen that Harry was still a little unsure, so he walked them down the hall to a door that was not quite at the other end. He opened it and gestured Harry inside. Harry walked in curiously.

"I thought you might like this one," Sirius said. "Of course it's up to you. It has an attached bath with a nice big tub, and my favorite part is this," Sirius gestured to the wall. "It has a huge window seat."

Harry looked around. The room also had a bed that could fit six of him, but was otherwise similar to his bed at Hogwarts with curtains around it. There was a desk, two comfortable-looking chairs, and a large bookcase. The room was all in different shades of blue, from the delicate wallpaper that Harry could now see had constellations on it, to the large, plush rugs.

"I like this room," Harry said gratefully.

"I thought you might," Sirius said. "It overlooks the rose garden and smells just delightful when the roses are in bloom and the window is open."

Harry walked to the window and looked out. It was dark, but he could tell that the grounds were indeed extensive. He could see the rose garden, which had fountains and a fish pond, as well as paths weaving around the house and grounds. The woods were in the distance, and Harry found that somehow comforting. There were no neighbors nearby, and he could walk around these grounds for hours.

"Well," Sirius said. "Are you hungry? Tired?" He seemed unsure of what to do. "I will have your things moved from the Leaky Cauldron right now, but if you want a snack…?"

He trailed off and Harry smiled. He was used to being pushed aside in the summer, not offered snacks. He had a feeling he was going to like living here a lot. Sirius was still an unknown quantity, but he had been nothing but kind so far. And he was a wizard, in a wizard's house. That alone was an improvement.

"Sure," Harry said. "I could eat!"

Sirius gestured to a small table in the corner of the room, near the bookshelves. It had two chairs around it. As soon as Harry sat down, a platter appeared in the middle of the table laden high with what looked like four different kinds of sandwiches, crisps, and a pitcher of pumpkin juice. Harry grinned and grabbed a large ham sandwich and a handful of crisps and put them on a plate.

"I wasn't sure what you liked, so I got a little of everything," Sirius said, grinning at him.

"It's great!" Harry said. "I'll eat anything, really."

"Good to know," Sirius said with a chuckle. He sat down across from Harry and grabbed a sandwich of his own. "The house elves here can definitely cook. I know I need to get some meat back on my bones. It looks like you might too." He raised an eyebrow.

Harry stopped eating and looked down at his plate, unsure what to say. It was true that he had always been shorter than everyone else his age, and too thin. The Dursleys fed him scraps and that was all he had unless he could steal food. He always gained a little weight at Hogwarts, but stress made it hard for him to take advantage of the generous offerings there. It was hard to eat when something or someone was after you. This might be the first summer he didn't return thinner than when he left.

"Hey," Sirius said gently. "It's okay. I don't know what it's been like for you, but I promise it's going to get better. I did not have the happiest childhood, you know."

That was news to Harry, and as he began chewing again he thought about the fact that he did not know this man. He knew nothing about him except that he had been good friends of his parents and they had chosen him to be Harry's godfather. That and he had been in prison for a decade.

"You and I will start fresh," Sirius said, his voice taking on a sort of wistful quality. "We have a second chance."

"Sirius," Harry asked. "How can you be here? How can I live with you? Aren't you on the run?"

It was a question he did not want to ask, but he just had to. The idea was gnawing at him and he needed to know that he wasn't in a fantasy where he was going to be whisked back to the Dursleys at any moment. Even if Sirius was innocent, in the eyes of the law he was still an escaped convict and a criminal.