Sitting down besides a shivering Sirius, James smiled and looked down at his old friend. This was far too soon, he shouldn't be able to see him already. Sirius should have years left but then -- he looked around the cell and grimaced. Not much of a life, is it? "You can't die off yet. I need you still, mate. Besides, you don't wanna see the afterlife... seriously overrated. More to do here."
Reaching out, he tried to touch and failed. "Come on, give us a look with those beautiful eyes of yours, Pads. Show me you're listening."
"Prongs..." Sirius muttered the name, not actually looking up. He tightened his arms around himself, trying to figure out if he was too hot or too cold. Too tired, he knew that. That was the best thing to do, wasn't it, when one was sick? Get a good night's sleep. No wonder he had seen bodies get buried out there so often.
But he heard James' voice and that was enough, finally, to make him sit up, look around. His eyes were more bloodshot and glassy than beautiful, but they did focus on James finally. Not the first time he'd seen James. He licked his cracked lips and then pressed them together, tasting blood.
"Sorry." He wasn't, honestly, sure what James had said, but he knew he was sorry. That was a good one to go with. He was always sorry.
"You always are and you've got nothing to be sorry about. Wait, no, that's wrong. That time you told me to add sneezing powder to Lily's cake... you owe me a sorry for that. I get all kinds of sorry for the stuff you didn't do so what about the stuff you did do?" James teased as he sat down across his best friend and crossed his legs, smiling all care free and happy because he knew someone had to smile here or no one would.
"Mate, you're dying. Why else can you talk to a dead man? That's not good. Come on, you gotta fight." He couldn't lose Sirius now, he needed him still. "I got to have someone I love and trust, fighting my corner. Don't leave this world yet."
"'s all right. They probably wouldn't let me die." Not that Sirius really wanted to die. He wanted to be dead, there couldn't really be a mistake about that, but wanting to die? Seemed like the coward's way out. He leaned back against the wall, looking at James. It was strange to see him like that. Smiling and happy. Usually these days he was haunted by the empty look in his eyes before he closed them.
"What do you need?" He looked around, then snorted. It was funny, in a dark way. "Hope what you want is in here, I'm fresh out of anything else."
"I gotta ask a big favour of you Pads. It's a biggie but like, you know, Lily and I need someone to fight for us cause we can't. We've been watching, trying and -- and I can't watch much more." The world was horrible and he couldn't stand watching it much longer. "Forget Wormtail. Forget revenge. Hell, for now, forget the bloody Dark Lord. I got a worse issue. In-laws."
The worst of all. "They got my boy, Pads. They got him and they're hurting him. I need you to get my lad and run. I dunno where but you gotta."
"Harry." Sirius said the name and he felt awful, like he didn't deserve it. The boy. He shouldn't have ever left him, shouldn't have let Hagrid take him. Then maybe things would be different. Or maybe they still wouldn't have believed him. So many mistakes he wished he could undo. How old was Harry now? Sirius looked up at the wall across from him, trying to do his best estimate. How many years? Five. Seven. Something along those lines. It had been a while since he had gotten to ask the date off of someone and his own system of keeping track of things suffered, given how he often couldn't tell night from day.
"He's with the muggles?" That thought alone did almost make him sick. He knew enough stories to dislike them already and now James said that they were hurting him? "You know I would. I'd do anything for him. But..." He gestured around uselessly, scoffing. Angry at himself. "You should ask Moony. Though I guess he's too smart to almost die of a cold."
"He wouldn't do it. He's a weak man, his body can't take it and his mind can't handle it - he wouldn't interfere. He'd trust the plan and follow it on cause he's a good bloke, our Moony but he ain't like us. He wouldn't break every rule for someone he loved." Maybe he would if he was hard pushed but Remus worked within the rules and with a gentle touch. James didn't need that. "They beat and starve him, your Godson, they keep him in a cupboard under the fucking stairs. He's got no life, nothing of his own. He's alone. I want to just be there for him and give him a hug."
He wanted so badly to go, pick up his boy and take him away from there but he was hopeless. "He's your boy, yeah? What's mine is yours. We always agreed. You'd marry Lily if I offered it, you'd raise our boy if we offed it. That was the deal." The very drunk deal they made over too much rum at a party but whatever. James stood by it. "Prison ain't gonna stop you. There's nothing you can't do, Pads. Trust me."
Honestly, Sirius wasn't sure whether he had actually seen James or whether anything that James he might have seen was actually true or not. But all he needed was that spark of possibility. Harry needing him. James and Lily asking for his help. Someone hurting Harry.
It was in his animagus form that he escaped. He knew the dementors wouldn't be able to tell, at least not for a while. All misery felt the same, Sirius reckoned.
Once he was outside, he knew he needed a wand, that was the first priority. He stole one from a second hand store. Not too bad, really, definitely dragon heart string, he could tell. Having a wand again made the next step, getting clothes, a lot easier. He broke into a muggle store specialising in motorcycles and so it didn't take long until he was not only clothed, but also in possession of a flying motorcycle again. When he'd first customised his machine, it had taken weeks, months even, figuring out the right spells and what parts mattered, how to get it to work in synergy... But after all these months, he had figured it out, he had fine-tuned his skill. This motorcycle would do.
And then the question was where to find Harry. He was lucky he remembered the names and, after frightening a muggle with his inquiries, he figured out what a phone book was. So now, armed with an address, he was on his way. 4 Privet Drive.
Where Vernon Dursley was busy telling Petunia Dursley a particularly boring thing that happened at work and had greatly annoyed him. Where Dudley Dursley was playing with his monster trucks, mostly enjoying lording the fact that he got to play over Harry, who had been told to sit in the corner. Where the television was showing a really not flattering picture of Sirius, looking crazed and angry, dirty hair and dirty clothes, while the news woman described him as an 'armed and dangerous convict on the run'.
It was in that moment that Sirius arrived. And he came in through the wall. A loud crash, the motorcycle motor still running, bricks falling down behind him, dust only slowly settling. Sirius got off the bike, shaking his hair out and cracking his knuckles. He was wearing leather gloves, matching his jacket, his pants, his boots. Everything except for the shirt he wore under the jacket, which was a simple white. All they had had at the store. His hair was long, unkempt, in need of a wash and hanging past halfway down his back. He didn't care that there were some wild strands in his face, he just looked around the room and narrowed his eyes at the Dursley's, reaching for his wand. Dudley was staring, his fingers in his mouth.
And then Sirius, who had been glaring, spotted Harry in the corner and from one moment to the other, his grim expression gave way to a wide smile, his eyes lighting up. "Harry? Blimey, you have grown."
The sudden banging, crashing and smashing noise was definitely not from Dudley and his trucks. They made loud, fun sounds but nothing that scary. Harry jumped out of his skin and moved back but he was already stuck in the corner, kind of unable to go anywhere. He pulled his legs up to his chest and hugged himself as he looked at the terrifying man with his crazy hair and scary face. He looked like a mad man!
He looked like... like...
The TV man. He was the TV man. The bad one. He just saw him on TV! So had uncle Vernon earlier today when the news was on then - he said men like that deserved a hanging. Whatever that was. Harry gulped as the man looked at him, unsure how to respond to the smile. He heard his aunt shriek in fear and hurry to her son, protectively pulling Dudley away as the Dursleys hurried to safety, making as much distance as they could and happily abandoning Harry as they got into the other corner.
Harry blinked at the strange man, tilted his head to the side and just tired to process this. No point in running. "...Do--Do you know me?"
"Yeah, Harry." Sirius kept smiling, hoping he could calm the kid down. "I'm your godson. Last time I saw you, you were still a baby." He showed just how little he had been with his hands, one of them still holding his wand. What a precious boy Harry was. He hated that he was scaring him, but of course that only made sense. While he had no mercy for the Dursleys, he really wanted to reassure Harry.
"Don't be scared. I'm here to pick you up. Take you somewhere better. Somewhere safe." Not the most precise description, but Sirius knew what it was like to be a child trapped somewhere awful. Better and safe had been all he'd longed for. He waved his wand, muttering a spell under his breath. A butterfly made up of red and gold sparkles came from the tip and fluttered over to Harry, stopping in front of them and then opening its wings wide, only to explode into beautiful rainbow sparkles that rained on the ground.
Sirius laughed. It was the first real laugh in a long time. He crouched down and opened his arms up for Harry. "Come 'ere, my boy."
He heard the ugly walrus of an uncle huff angrily, but apparently he was too scared to actually speak. Dudley, however? He was confused. "Mommy, why is there a magic man?"
Harry was fascinated. This man knew him as a baby? So did he know his parents? He looked nervously at his aunt and uncle and then back at the man as a butterfly flew out of his magic stick. Something familiar about the butterfly made his heart warm, smiling faintly as he reached out to touch it, watching as it became rainbow dust in the air. With a small laugh, he looked up at the man and then he remembered that he'd seen the man on TV. For bad things.
But he knew him... no one ever knew him.
"Stay away from him, darling. He's dangerous! He's one of their lot." The sneer was hard to miss and Harry found it kinda funny. She had the same sneer for him as for his father. Looking at Sirius, he shuffled forward a little and then he had to pause.
"Are you a bad man? You were on the TV." Despite the sneer from before, he could hear the fear in his aunts voice and that made it easier to talk. They couldn't hurt him if someone scarier was around. He liked that.
"I'll be bad to that rotten lot," Sirius told him, as if in secrecy, gesturing at the Dursley's with his thumb. But he smiled at Harry still, sharing a conspiracy. "I'm gonna be really good to you. I promise. I promised it to your parents, you know?"
His face softened and he held his hand out to Harry, hoping he'd take it. "You belong with me, Harry. Not them."
Finally Vernon burst out, making himself as big as he could. "I'm not scared of some runaway hoodlum! The boy is in our care!"
Sirius turned his head, his eyes narrowing and, yes, he pointed his wand. His voice was colder now. "Do you feel they do a good job of caring for you, Harry?"
The promise of being with someone who smiled like that, belonging and having someone who knew his parents? It hurt his chest so much, he felt like he could burst. He wanted it so badly. Harry had dreamt of his dad coming in to save him or his mom, he hadn't expected it to ever really happen but this felt too real. He got up to move, slowly approaching with a timid creep.
But as soon as Vernon yelled, he stopped still on the spot with wide, scared eyes.
"Get back over here, boy!" His aunt was yelling now, hiding behind his uncle and holding Dudley tight. He looked at them, all the promise of punishment and anger for what had happened, and then he looked at Sirius. A mystery but at least he stood a chance of not being punished.
Impulsively, he rushed over and hid behind the man's leg, peering out. "Not overly, no. They don't like me much."
In spite of - or maybe because of - being somewhere well beyond the realm of exhausted, Sirius had been restless. He ended up checking in on Harry approximately forty-seven times, just to make sure he was breathing normally, sleeping soundly and not falling off the bed or something.
Since sleep was still escaping him, he finally decided to be productive, cleaning up - magically of course - in the entire house, checking out the kitchen and everything, so he would actually know what he had to work with. It was good to see some cauldrons and a decent supply of potions ingredients. If he could get what he needed, maybe he could make up some dreamless sleep potion. Honestly, shopping would be an issue. He knew that Harry could likely go shopping in the village - with a dog by his side, of course - but any magical supplies? Everyone in the wizarding world would recognise Harry Potter. He would have to think about this.
A problem for another day. For now they had pizza they could use for breakfast and then, maybe, Harry and him could go on a muggle shopping trip. But first, Sirius finally took the time to properly clean himself up. Before he had barely managed, too worried that Harry might... drown, or something. His fears weren't very defined, but they were aplenty. But now, with Harry sound asleep - he had checked again - Sirius could wash, could especially wash his hair. It took a few rounds and then he still ended up cutting off a significant chunk, but finally his hair was brushed, his face was shaven and he sat there, staring at himself in the mirror. He had lost weight, that was for sure. Still strong though, the times he had managed to channel what little energy he had had into working out had definitely paid off. His face looked thinner, his hair - now - pretty much the same as he remembered. It was his eyes that had changed, as had the smile, which didn't come as readily. Easier to look forlorn. What a twat.
Harry made him smile. Sirius focused on that and moved away from the mirror. Truthfully, he had never been one to look at himself much anyway. So there he was, in bed, staring at nothing and wondering how to settle his mind. In the end, he retreated into his animagus form and like that, as the giant dog, he managed to find some rest. He was just hoping he would wake up before Harry walked in on him.
Harry lay in bed for a few moments to just absorb everything that had happened. He wasn't back under the stairs so it was definitely not a dream... so what was it? His dad was a wizard, he was with his Godfather and he ate pizza in a cool new house he belonged it! It was like a fantasy he'd make up in his head but it was so very real.
And he had to do everything he could not to mess it up. Hence why he was pulling himself out of bed already, eager to try and make Sirius some food. He could show him how well he worked and then Sirius would have to want to keep him.
Toddling through the hall, he paused in front of Sirius' door and looked at it, wondering if he was allowed in. Sirius said so but he didn't want to make the wrong move... in the end, he did it. He pushed the door open and peered in to find --
Well, not Sirius.
That was a very big and very scary looking dog. With a small whimper, Harry stared and wondered where his Godfather was. Did it eat him?! Oh no, what if his Godfather was eaten?!
Sirius steered, his senses always excellent in this form. He blinked his eyes open and rolled around, looking at Harry. Then he realised that he was a dog and that that was bound to be confusing Harry. So, since he wasn't sure what else to do, he wagged his tail and tried to look sweet, hoping it would reassure him. Then he shifted, from the big, black, fluffy dog to a man, wearing the same pyjamas Harry was wearing, just bigger.
"It's me, Harry! Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." And he knew that he probably had. Damn it, here he was finally not looking like a deranged madman before and he sprung this on the boy. "...you saw me do this when you were little. You loved it then."
"... You were a dog." How did he do that? Harry hid a little behind the doorframe, a little shocked but very fascinated. After all, he was James and Lily's son - fear came second to fascination. With wide eyes, he went from fear to happiness. He trusted Sirius, trusted him more than anyone in this world, even if it had only been a day. "You're a big dog. You're like a wolf! ... Are you a werewolf?"
He wasn't sure what one was but Dudley dressed as one for Halloween when they were four. "You're very fluffy." Looking up at Sirius with a tentative smile, he finally looked at him and felt weirdly excited. He didn't look so scary now! He looked like a nice man. "You shaved."
"Come here, Harry." Sirius held a hand out to him, still on the bed. Maybe they could cuddle a little. What was wrong with some cuddling? "When you were little, like, really tiny, I'd always curl up on the floor next to you and you'd play with my fur. You were always sweet and gentle, you didn't pull."
Such a cute baby he had been. And a cute boy now, that much was obvious. "I'll tell you a story, okay? Before we have breakfast."
Who didn't like to start off the day with a good story?
"It's not very nice to pull fur. I think you look really cool as a dog... but kinda scary. You're so big!" And that was a bit of a shock but it was Sirius. How bad could he be? Even puppy Sirius had to be good. He came over and climbed up onto the bed himself, able to mostly get himself up and onto it with some scrabbling.
Sitting next to Sirius, he shuffled closer and closer. He liked to sit close. Sirius was warm and comforting.
Well, there went another job over. Sweeping the floors of the pub was beyond even him these days. After his latest transformation, he'd sliced himself up pretty bad by accident and people were staring so, naturally, he had to leave. Especially when a wizard made an awkward joke about him being cursed - he wasn't sure if he was implying something or not.
With no job, his rent three weeks overdue and no prospects, Remus was just wandering. He did that sometimes. Nothing good happened to him so what was there to fear? A mugging? Ha!
He was the terrifying one to run into at 1am on the dark streets, nevermind everyone else. With a tired sigh, Remus tried to be positive and idly wondered if it was worth blowing the last of his cash on a big Cadbury's bar and just eating it all in one sitting.
There had been many ways of going around this. But frankly, Sirius was running low on patience, he only had so much time during which he felt all right leaving Harry alone and, not least of all, he had always been one for choosing the most showy and dramatic way for just about anything.
And so here he was. Flying on his motorcycle, spotting Remus on the road and swooping down. He hit him with an 'Expelliarmus!' from the back, accio'd his now discarded wand into his own hand with another quick spell. He knew speed was on his side, because Remus was a powerful wizard, but he had never been as fast as him. Few were, his penchant for acting before thinking had saved his life at least as often as it had ruined it. And now that he had reached Remus, he slung an arm around his hip and threw him in front of him across the motorcycle, perhaps slightly inspired by some cowboy movies he had seen.
He wasted no time with gaining height again, to hopefully give Remus other things to worry about than potential escape. Especially since he also still had his wand at the ready. So there he was, wand in one hand, the other on the handle, leaning over his old friend. His old friend, who was of the opinion that he was a murderous madman, having recently kidnapped and possibly killed their dead friends' son. The situation was so insane that Sirius couldn't help it. Wind tousling his hair, adrenaline coursing through his veins, the absurdity of it all hitting him... He laughed.
It all happened so fast, it was more of a shock than anything. His wand was gone, there was this horrendous noise behind him and as soon as someone grabbed him - he knew this was likely the end badly. He cried out, mostly in shock, and went to fight free but suddenly they were going up and up. Too high up! Remus cried out and flailed, having to grab on the arm around him because he was terrified he'd just free fall and die. And yes, he cried out. He most certainly did not shriek in a high pitched fashion. Not at all.
He turned his head and his eyes were full of horror.
"... Sirius?!" The motorcycle took a sharp turn and Remus looked away because turning was a lot. It was too much. He paled and stared ahead, lost in shock. "Oh my God!" What was happening?!
"Can't believe I got you shrieking." Sirius knew that this was really a situation that could end badly for both of them. He also knew that he couldn't blame Remus for shrieking, given he knew the man's issues with heights. But, Merlin, was it ever entertaining. Transported him right back to school.
Still, he had seen the horror in Remus' eyes and, after a few seconds, that did serve to bring him down from his high. He kept steering them higher up, figuring that they should be above the clouds. Felt safe, in a strange and misleading way.
"Long time no see, Moony," he ended up saying, sounding nonchalantly. He looked at the man in front of him, inspected what he could see. Worn down clothes. His hair... "Are you already greying? Damn. Silverfox."
"Sirius, what the bloody hell are you playing at?"
He tried not to panic but this man, the one he had once seen as his greatest friend, was the man who killed James and Lily. In a roundabout way. How could he have fun with him when he had done such a thing? When he had -- God, what had he done to the boy? Looking down, he bit back a noise of fear and tried to look straight ahead. That was less scary. Never look down.
"What did you do to Harry?" If he was dead then -- then what? Like he could win a fight against Sirius of all people.
Sirius wished it didn't hit him like that. But the way Remus talked to him, beyond the fear, beyond the panic of the moment. That disgust and contempt. The same he'd seen on so many people's faces since this all started. It was worse from Remus. He didn't blame his friend, but that didn't stop it from hurting. He leaned his head against Remus' neck, breathed in, eyes closing. He tried to find some familiarity, some comfort.
His breath came out in a shudder and he had to fight for composure. "Harry's fine," he managed, then shut up, because his voice sounded raw and shaky and he hated it.
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Sitting down besides a shivering Sirius, James smiled and looked down at his old friend. This was far too soon, he shouldn't be able to see him already. Sirius should have years left but then -- he looked around the cell and grimaced. Not much of a life, is it? "You can't die off yet. I need you still, mate. Besides, you don't wanna see the afterlife... seriously overrated. More to do here."
Reaching out, he tried to touch and failed. "Come on, give us a look with those beautiful eyes of yours, Pads. Show me you're listening."
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But he heard James' voice and that was enough, finally, to make him sit up, look around. His eyes were more bloodshot and glassy than beautiful, but they did focus on James finally. Not the first time he'd seen James. He licked his cracked lips and then pressed them together, tasting blood.
"Sorry." He wasn't, honestly, sure what James had said, but he knew he was sorry. That was a good one to go with. He was always sorry.
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"Mate, you're dying. Why else can you talk to a dead man? That's not good. Come on, you gotta fight." He couldn't lose Sirius now, he needed him still. "I got to have someone I love and trust, fighting my corner. Don't leave this world yet."
He wanted to spare him but he didn't know how.
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"What do you need?" He looked around, then snorted. It was funny, in a dark way. "Hope what you want is in here, I'm fresh out of anything else."
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The worst of all. "They got my boy, Pads. They got him and they're hurting him. I need you to get my lad and run. I dunno where but you gotta."
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"He's with the muggles?" That thought alone did almost make him sick. He knew enough stories to dislike them already and now James said that they were hurting him? "You know I would. I'd do anything for him. But..." He gestured around uselessly, scoffing. Angry at himself. "You should ask Moony. Though I guess he's too smart to almost die of a cold."
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He wanted so badly to go, pick up his boy and take him away from there but he was hopeless. "He's your boy, yeah? What's mine is yours. We always agreed. You'd marry Lily if I offered it, you'd raise our boy if we offed it. That was the deal." The very drunk deal they made over too much rum at a party but whatever. James stood by it. "Prison ain't gonna stop you. There's nothing you can't do, Pads. Trust me."
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It was in his animagus form that he escaped. He knew the dementors wouldn't be able to tell, at least not for a while. All misery felt the same, Sirius reckoned.
Once he was outside, he knew he needed a wand, that was the first priority. He stole one from a second hand store. Not too bad, really, definitely dragon heart string, he could tell. Having a wand again made the next step, getting clothes, a lot easier. He broke into a muggle store specialising in motorcycles and so it didn't take long until he was not only clothed, but also in possession of a flying motorcycle again. When he'd first customised his machine, it had taken weeks, months even, figuring out the right spells and what parts mattered, how to get it to work in synergy... But after all these months, he had figured it out, he had fine-tuned his skill. This motorcycle would do.
And then the question was where to find Harry. He was lucky he remembered the names and, after frightening a muggle with his inquiries, he figured out what a phone book was. So now, armed with an address, he was on his way. 4 Privet Drive.
Where Vernon Dursley was busy telling Petunia Dursley a particularly boring thing that happened at work and had greatly annoyed him. Where Dudley Dursley was playing with his monster trucks, mostly enjoying lording the fact that he got to play over Harry, who had been told to sit in the corner. Where the television was showing a really not flattering picture of Sirius, looking crazed and angry, dirty hair and dirty clothes, while the news woman described him as an 'armed and dangerous convict on the run'.
It was in that moment that Sirius arrived. And he came in through the wall. A loud crash, the motorcycle motor still running, bricks falling down behind him, dust only slowly settling. Sirius got off the bike, shaking his hair out and cracking his knuckles. He was wearing leather gloves, matching his jacket, his pants, his boots. Everything except for the shirt he wore under the jacket, which was a simple white. All they had had at the store. His hair was long, unkempt, in need of a wash and hanging past halfway down his back. He didn't care that there were some wild strands in his face, he just looked around the room and narrowed his eyes at the Dursley's, reaching for his wand. Dudley was staring, his fingers in his mouth.
And then Sirius, who had been glaring, spotted Harry in the corner and from one moment to the other, his grim expression gave way to a wide smile, his eyes lighting up. "Harry? Blimey, you have grown."
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He looked like... like...
The TV man. He was the TV man. The bad one. He just saw him on TV! So had uncle Vernon earlier today when the news was on then - he said men like that deserved a hanging. Whatever that was. Harry gulped as the man looked at him, unsure how to respond to the smile. He heard his aunt shriek in fear and hurry to her son, protectively pulling Dudley away as the Dursleys hurried to safety, making as much distance as they could and happily abandoning Harry as they got into the other corner.
Harry blinked at the strange man, tilted his head to the side and just tired to process this. No point in running. "...Do--Do you know me?"
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"Don't be scared. I'm here to pick you up. Take you somewhere better. Somewhere safe." Not the most precise description, but Sirius knew what it was like to be a child trapped somewhere awful. Better and safe had been all he'd longed for. He waved his wand, muttering a spell under his breath. A butterfly made up of red and gold sparkles came from the tip and fluttered over to Harry, stopping in front of them and then opening its wings wide, only to explode into beautiful rainbow sparkles that rained on the ground.
Sirius laughed. It was the first real laugh in a long time. He crouched down and opened his arms up for Harry. "Come 'ere, my boy."
He heard the ugly walrus of an uncle huff angrily, but apparently he was too scared to actually speak. Dudley, however? He was confused. "Mommy, why is there a magic man?"
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But he knew him... no one ever knew him.
"Stay away from him, darling. He's dangerous! He's one of their lot." The sneer was hard to miss and Harry found it kinda funny. She had the same sneer for him as for his father. Looking at Sirius, he shuffled forward a little and then he had to pause.
"Are you a bad man? You were on the TV." Despite the sneer from before, he could hear the fear in his aunts voice and that made it easier to talk. They couldn't hurt him if someone scarier was around. He liked that.
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His face softened and he held his hand out to Harry, hoping he'd take it. "You belong with me, Harry. Not them."
Finally Vernon burst out, making himself as big as he could. "I'm not scared of some runaway hoodlum! The boy is in our care!"
Sirius turned his head, his eyes narrowing and, yes, he pointed his wand. His voice was colder now. "Do you feel they do a good job of caring for you, Harry?"
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But as soon as Vernon yelled, he stopped still on the spot with wide, scared eyes.
"Get back over here, boy!" His aunt was yelling now, hiding behind his uncle and holding Dudley tight. He looked at them, all the promise of punishment and anger for what had happened, and then he looked at Sirius. A mystery but at least he stood a chance of not being punished.
Impulsively, he rushed over and hid behind the man's leg, peering out. "Not overly, no. They don't like me much."
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Since sleep was still escaping him, he finally decided to be productive, cleaning up - magically of course - in the entire house, checking out the kitchen and everything, so he would actually know what he had to work with. It was good to see some cauldrons and a decent supply of potions ingredients. If he could get what he needed, maybe he could make up some dreamless sleep potion. Honestly, shopping would be an issue. He knew that Harry could likely go shopping in the village - with a dog by his side, of course - but any magical supplies? Everyone in the wizarding world would recognise Harry Potter. He would have to think about this.
A problem for another day. For now they had pizza they could use for breakfast and then, maybe, Harry and him could go on a muggle shopping trip. But first, Sirius finally took the time to properly clean himself up. Before he had barely managed, too worried that Harry might... drown, or something. His fears weren't very defined, but they were aplenty. But now, with Harry sound asleep - he had checked again - Sirius could wash, could especially wash his hair. It took a few rounds and then he still ended up cutting off a significant chunk, but finally his hair was brushed, his face was shaven and he sat there, staring at himself in the mirror. He had lost weight, that was for sure. Still strong though, the times he had managed to channel what little energy he had had into working out had definitely paid off. His face looked thinner, his hair - now - pretty much the same as he remembered. It was his eyes that had changed, as had the smile, which didn't come as readily. Easier to look forlorn. What a twat.
Harry made him smile. Sirius focused on that and moved away from the mirror. Truthfully, he had never been one to look at himself much anyway. So there he was, in bed, staring at nothing and wondering how to settle his mind. In the end, he retreated into his animagus form and like that, as the giant dog, he managed to find some rest. He was just hoping he would wake up before Harry walked in on him.
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And he had to do everything he could not to mess it up. Hence why he was pulling himself out of bed already, eager to try and make Sirius some food. He could show him how well he worked and then Sirius would have to want to keep him.
Toddling through the hall, he paused in front of Sirius' door and looked at it, wondering if he was allowed in. Sirius said so but he didn't want to make the wrong move... in the end, he did it. He pushed the door open and peered in to find --
Well, not Sirius.
That was a very big and very scary looking dog. With a small whimper, Harry stared and wondered where his Godfather was. Did it eat him?! Oh no, what if his Godfather was eaten?!
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"It's me, Harry! Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." And he knew that he probably had. Damn it, here he was finally not looking like a deranged madman before and he sprung this on the boy. "...you saw me do this when you were little. You loved it then."
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He wasn't sure what one was but Dudley dressed as one for Halloween when they were four. "You're very fluffy." Looking up at Sirius with a tentative smile, he finally looked at him and felt weirdly excited. He didn't look so scary now! He looked like a nice man. "You shaved."
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Such a cute baby he had been. And a cute boy now, that much was obvious. "I'll tell you a story, okay? Before we have breakfast."
Who didn't like to start off the day with a good story?
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Sitting next to Sirius, he shuffled closer and closer. He liked to sit close. Sirius was warm and comforting.
"What story is it?"
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With no job, his rent three weeks overdue and no prospects, Remus was just wandering. He did that sometimes. Nothing good happened to him so what was there to fear? A mugging? Ha!
He was the terrifying one to run into at 1am on the dark streets, nevermind everyone else. With a tired sigh, Remus tried to be positive and idly wondered if it was worth blowing the last of his cash on a big Cadbury's bar and just eating it all in one sitting.
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And so here he was. Flying on his motorcycle, spotting Remus on the road and swooping down. He hit him with an 'Expelliarmus!' from the back, accio'd his now discarded wand into his own hand with another quick spell. He knew speed was on his side, because Remus was a powerful wizard, but he had never been as fast as him. Few were, his penchant for acting before thinking had saved his life at least as often as it had ruined it. And now that he had reached Remus, he slung an arm around his hip and threw him in front of him across the motorcycle, perhaps slightly inspired by some cowboy movies he had seen.
He wasted no time with gaining height again, to hopefully give Remus other things to worry about than potential escape. Especially since he also still had his wand at the ready. So there he was, wand in one hand, the other on the handle, leaning over his old friend. His old friend, who was of the opinion that he was a murderous madman, having recently kidnapped and possibly killed their dead friends' son. The situation was so insane that Sirius couldn't help it. Wind tousling his hair, adrenaline coursing through his veins, the absurdity of it all hitting him... He laughed.
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He turned his head and his eyes were full of horror.
"... Sirius?!" The motorcycle took a sharp turn and Remus looked away because turning was a lot. It was too much. He paled and stared ahead, lost in shock. "Oh my God!" What was happening?!
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Still, he had seen the horror in Remus' eyes and, after a few seconds, that did serve to bring him down from his high. He kept steering them higher up, figuring that they should be above the clouds. Felt safe, in a strange and misleading way.
"Long time no see, Moony," he ended up saying, sounding nonchalantly. He looked at the man in front of him, inspected what he could see. Worn down clothes. His hair... "Are you already greying? Damn. Silverfox."
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He tried not to panic but this man, the one he had once seen as his greatest friend, was the man who killed James and Lily. In a roundabout way. How could he have fun with him when he had done such a thing? When he had -- God, what had he done to the boy? Looking down, he bit back a noise of fear and tried to look straight ahead. That was less scary. Never look down.
"What did you do to Harry?" If he was dead then -- then what? Like he could win a fight against Sirius of all people.
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His breath came out in a shudder and he had to fight for composure. "Harry's fine," he managed, then shut up, because his voice sounded raw and shaky and he hated it.
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