Chapter Text
Harry could still hear Vernon’s and Petunia’s screams as he walked briskly down the street. His trunk stumbled after him on wheels, and Hedwig's cage rattled as it was pinned to the top of the trunk. He didn't know where to go. Or what he was going to do. But he was sure he'd rather live on the street than go back to them. „I can't go back there, they'll kill me. Without magic I can't defend myself, and so Petunia would starve me if Vernon didn't beat me to death. Family is Harry above all else. Their presence protects you, Harry. Bullshit! That house was never my home,” he muttered to himself, doubting anyone had heard him. Or cared. Their neighbours were all like his ghastly relatives. People who cared about their surroundings just so they could ruin someone else's reputation and improve theirs.
Harry hated Privet Drive.
He turned right at the end of the street. There was a bus stop nearby. Harry wasn't sure if there were any buses running at the time, but he decided to take his chances. Even if there was only one bus, wherever it went, it was better than number four.
It was dark when Harry sat down at the bus stop, his suitcase beside him. He checked the timetables and saw that the next bus should be running in an hour. Luckily, he'd had the good sense to change some galleons into pounds last year and save them for emergencies. It was only fortunate that his safe gave him the chance, or he'd be completely screwed.
„To London, maybe I'll stay in the Leaky Cauldron,” he decided aloud. Who'd listen to him in Privet Drive?
From the direction he'd come he saw a figure approaching. When it had gone under the lamp, Harry could see a man with really long, tangled hair and dressed in frayed dirty trousers and an old flannel shirt that must have been too big for him. In fact, it looked like one Vernon wore.
Harry clutched his wand in his pocket and placed one hand on the caged suitcase. A homeless man, probably, but Harry couldn't afford to underestimate anyone. He watched, tense, as the man sat down on the far end of the bench and turned slightly towards him.
„I'm not a danger, Harry,” he said in a hoarse voice, as if he had a cough.
„How do you know my name?” Harry snapped at once, getting ready to run away.
„You look just like your father,” was enough to calm Harry a little. Harry released his grip on the wand, but left his hand in his pocket with it.
„Did you know him?”
The man gave a short, barking laugh. „He was like my brother. I was his best man,” Harry tried to recall the photographs Hagrid had given him of his parents' wedding, but none of the young men looked like the wizard beside him.
„What's your name?”
„It's a really long story, Harry. Do you promise that if I tell you my name you won't start running? At least until I explain everything?” That was really cryptic, and Harry's paranoia announced a red warning light.
„Why should I believe anything you say?”
The man sighed and put his elbows on his knees. „Will the oath on my magic that I won't hurt you and that I'm telling the truth help?” he asked, as if expecting a negative answer. Harry knew little about magic oaths, and after glancing at the man, he asked if he'd even had a wand.
The man laughed again. „No, but you don't need a wand for such an oath, not if I swear on family magic,” he announced, showing Harry his crooked yellow teeth. Harry still had doubts, but nodded to challenge him to the oath.
„I, Sirius Orion Black III, swear on my family magic that I mean Harrison Potter no harm, and everything I say to him in the next hour is the absolute truth. So mote it be,” he said, and Harry could feel the spark of magic between them that sealed the oath.
Harry vaguely remembered the name from the news on TV, about Black being an escaped prisoner with a gun. He froze at it, and his head blanked for a moment. „Harrison?" he asked, numb and confused. He had never been more than Harry.
„Is that what you're interested in?” asked Black, amused. „Not an Azkaban escapee and a serial killer?”
„What's Azkaban?” said Harry, when he could relax the muscles in his face enough to move his mouth.
„Magic prison. I'd ask you how you didn't know, but you obviously grew up with Muggles,” he said, nodding toward Privet Drive. Harry made a face.
„Little better than growing up on the street,” he muttered. You'd think he was exaggerating, but a few years ago he made friends with a street boy who had wandered into a park just outside number four for the summer, and he described his life to him. Harry had tried to escape once, but the police had found him within two days and sent him back, not caring why he had run away in the first place. Harry knew very well not to trust adults.
„Yeah, I met them at your parents' wedding. I don't know who thought it was a good idea to give you to them, really,” said Black, shaking his head.
„What did you want to tell me?"
„Oh, yeah. I'm innocent, of everything,” Harry looked at him, waiting for a fuller explanation. „Yeah, you probably don't know much about me,” said Black, putting his hand behind his neck and massaging it.
„Just that you ran away, that's all. What were you jailed for?”
„For killing twelve Muggles and a wizard,” he answered flatly, in a tone so dry that Harry snorted.
„The whole story?” asked Black, glancing nervously around the area, still alone. Harry nodded and leaned against the plastic wall of the bus stop, clearly indicating that he wasn't going anywhere. Black didn't seem bothered. No, that's a mistake. He was still nervous about talking in the open, but he seemed to understand Harry's reluctance to go anywhere with him. He even seemed to encourage the caution.
And it was a story, one could write a novel about it. The friendship of four boys, one in love and married, one his best man and then his godfather to their son. Another had been chosen as the keeper of secrets for the family in time of war. The last had distanced himself from the rest, for his own mission against the enemy side.
Betrayal between friends, brothers.
Misunderstanding with authority, the Ministry.
Blame, for the initially good idea of keeping everyone safe.
Finding out that the traitor had gotten close to his godson.
Escaping from prison to protect Harry.
There was a long, silent pause while Harry thought things over. Was that the main reason he had been sent to the Dursleys? So that one of the known Death Eaters wouldn't get to him? And take revenge on him? Were the years of abuse at the hands of his relatives worth beeing safe from one group of wizards? Who didn't even have to go after him? Because they couldn't be sure they were really after him, not after they'd all been convicted and sent to Azkaban.
Harry told Sirius, because he was his godfather and until proven otherwise, Harry had found him safe, about the bloody protection Dumbledore thought he had. Sirius frowned at this. „That's not how blood magic works, though. For starters, your parents didn't shed any blood when he killed them. Then even if they did, it wouldn't just work in their care,” he said, jerking a thumb in the general direction of house number four. „But it would protect you from them, too,” he said, giving Harry a meaningful look. At other times, he would have been ashamed of the look, as when the twins looked at him with pity, after saving him from starvation last year. But Sirius seemed to understand the resentment of pity, so he just let it go. „It sounds more like sacrificial magic, elemental. And it has nothing to do with blood. It's not as effective against harm, but it would be activated against the threat of death,” Harry stared at him in surprise and a little amazement. They certainly didn't teach this in school, or if they did, the older classmates never mentioned it.
„It's not exactly common information, or legal, but my family used to indulge in such obscure types of magic,” Sirius shrugged, but Harry knew, after years of watching people around him, that there was much more to that sentence.
„What now?” Harry asked at last, completely lost in all this and what to do about it.
„It depends on what you want, I just wanted you to know the truth. I'll find Wormtail and get my revenge, but your safety comes first,” he said, and that was too much for Harry. Barely an hour had passed, and Harry couldn't cope with the information that quickly. He had to concentrate on something else until he found a safe place to crash.
„I need time. And a place to stay until I get back to school. I was planning the Leaky Cauldron, but,” Harry didn't finish. He didn't know how to explain that the new knowledge that the Ministry couldn't be trusted, that they wouldn’t even give a criminal a trial before sending him to the worst prison on earth, had given him fear and uncertainty. The Leaky Cauldron was the only place to sleep on Diagon Alley, and Harry, for all he'd been in the wizarding world for three school years, didn't know any other places. And he didn't have enough for a hotel in the Muggle world. And visiting the Gringott Bank was the same problem.
„Doesn't seem safe?” said Sirius, something similar to Harry's paranoia glinting in his grey eyes. Harry nodded stiffly.
„There are few places I could take you. Family houses with so many wards around them that you can't find them if you don't know what to look for. But you'd have to lend me your wand to Apparate us,” said Sirius. He sounded as if he knew how much confidence Harry would have to give him to make it happen. „I wouldn't trust myself either,” he added. Harry grimaced. At least the man was aware of it.
„How far?” said Harry carefully. Sirius made a face.
„The nearest is Grimmauld Place in London, but I've sworn not to set foot there while I'm alive. It's a long story,” he added, as Harry raised his eyebrows.
„Then there's a villa just outside of Pant-Y-Dŵr, in Wales. There's a house on Cleeve Hill in the Cotswolds that’s closer, but it's not as well protected,” said Sirius, looking thoughtful. If Harry remembered his geography correctly, they were all places at least a day's journey by Muggle traffic.
Harry took a good look at Sirius Black. He sat twisted into himself, muttering the names of the houses as he tried to remember where they were. He still looked homeless, he was dirty, and Harry was pretty sure he'd stolen that shirt from Vernon. He wasn't tense, he'd even forgotten to look around and make sure they were still alone. Harry hadn't forgotten, and he was sure they were still. The bus should be along any minute.
„Swear to me that nothing will happen to me and that you won't hold me anywhere,” said Harry at last, interrupting his barely discernible muttering. How many of those houses did he have?
„The simplest oath I'll make! I, Sirius Orion Black III, swear by family magic that I will not imprison Harrison Potter anywhere or make it impossible for him to leave, and I will never hurt him. So mote it be,” he said, in the same solemn voice as before, showing Harry an almost cheerful crooked smile.
Harry carefully drew out his wand and, his lips pressed together, handed it to his godfather. He took it with equal caution. „I won't betray your trust, I promise you,” he said solemnly, rising to his feet.
„Won't the Trace detect it?” said Harry, also getting to his feet.
„No,” said the man, „I'm an adult, so even if you do the magic while you're close enough to me, Trace won't detect it. I'll teach you the loopholes of magic in the Muggle world,” said Sirius with a wink of one eye, obviously pleased with the idea of mischief. „Your owl's clever?” he asked, looking at the cage on his trunk.
„She'll find me without telling her where I'll be,” said Harry proudly. Last year she had turned up in the Burrow after the Weasley boys had rescued him, and she had been hunting before.
„She sounds like a useful girl,” said Sirius, nodding his appreciation and grabbing the handle of the trunk with one hand. In the other he held Harry's wand and held it out so that Harry could grab his forearm. Harry was glad that Mrs Weasley had told him about the Apparition last year, or he would have been out of his mind when he felt his body had been dragged through a really narrow tube and, at the same time, it was as if he had spun a thousand times on a merry-go-round, at lightspeed.
It didn't matter that the last time he had a slice of bread and hard cheese for lunch, he fell to his knees anyway and began to vomit up what little was left in his stomach when he finally had solid ground under his feet. The whole world was still spinning before his eyes, but their closing only made it worse. It was pitch black, but Harry could make out the outlines of the trees a few yards away. Before Sirius switched on his wand and nearly blinded Harry.
Harry hissed at him. „A warning would be nice,” he said sarcastically, before his stomach turned again.
„Apparition or light?” said Sirius, amused, and Harry grumbled in frustration. „It'll pass in a minute. Are you finished? Come on, it'll be better inside. You'll have a drink, sit on the sofa,” said Sirius, pulling him to his feet at the same time, grabbing him by the arm and helping him to walk towards . . . nothing.
There were literally only trees around! They were in a clearing in the woods!
Harry's heart quickened, and he made a feeble effort to break free of Sirius's grip. „Relax, it's here, I promise,” said the man quietly, calmly, „It's just hidden behind the wards. Once we've crossed them, you'll see it,” he said, trying to calm him down. Not that it would do much good, but Harry was still too weak from dizziness to defend himself.
And then he saw it. A wooden cottage with two floors, a porch with a fireplace and a stone walkway that led to a door. You couldn't see much further in the darkness, but it was enough to calm Harry down completely. As if on purpose, his strength returned and his legs, and he stood bolt upright on them. „Are you all right?” asked Sirius, still humorous, but looking at him as if preparing to support Harry again.
„I'm still spinning a bit, but otherwise, yeah,” was Harry’s turn with voice hoarse, and his throat still burned from vomiting.
„All right,” said the man happily, and he continued into the house with Harry's suitcase. „Every property belonging to my family has a house-elf. Tiny,” he called from the front of the stairs to the door. It opened and there was a small elf with smaller ears than Dobby's, and eyes that were unnaturally distinctly blue. She was dressed in a plain but clean, black robe. She gave a yelp of delight as she saw Sirius.
'Master Sirius is back!' she shouted, and before Harry knew it she was hugging Sirius's legs. That, according to Harry, was normal. If he was comparing one to Dobby.
Sirius stroked her bald head and greeted her in a low voice.
„Master is thin! And more dishevelled than ever!” she said, perhaps offended, as she pulled away from Sirius and looked at him. She snapped her fingers and torches on the terrace, and fires lit up in the windows of the house. „And in front of a guest!” she added, seeing Harry just a little way behind Sirius.
„A lot has happened to Tiny. This is my godson Harry. We need a quiet, safe place. And if anyone in the family has left an old wand here, I'd appreciate it,” said Sirius. The gentle and pleasant way he spoke to the elf was surprising, though it probably shouldn't be. Lucius Malfoy is not a good role model for anyone, certainly not for Harry, on how to treat house-elves.
„Master Harry is thin, too!” Tiny looked as if it was a personal insult. Harry's cheeks warmed up a little. Mrs Weasley had the same tone last year when she first saw Harry in clothes that didn't deform the figure.
Sirius snorted. „Give Harry a room upstairs,” said Tiny, pointing at Harry's suitcase.
„Tiny will do it. And shee'll start cooking dinner,” she added, before disappearing with another snap with Harry's trunk.
„Come on, let me change and we'll sit in the living room,” he said to Harry, entering the house. Harry followed him.
—
The house could be described simply, it was bigger on the inside. A lot.
Sirius led him down the main corridor to the door at the end, commenting on which door led to where. The library, the bathroom, the kitchen, the dining room, the master bedroom and the basement. Up the stairs were two more bedrooms and a music room, whatever that meant. The whole interior was dark. Dark wood, dark-covered furniture, dark curtains and drapes. There were various items on the shelves, from old crockery to a withered human hand. Harry wanted to ask and, at the same time, didn't want to.
Finally, he sat down in a chair in what Sirius called the living room. A teapot and an empty cup landed on the table in front of him. Sirius left him there and disappeared in search of something to change into.
Harry sniffed his tea and recognized a plain black one. Harry drank carefully to avoid burning himself.
And when Sirius returned about twenty minutes later, the tea sprayed directly onto the green-brown carpet.
Gone was the homeless man. In his place stood a man in his thirties, freshly shaved, with hair only to his shoulders and arranged in a half-bun. Dressed in black trousers, a white shirt and a green sweater. „Did I look that bad?” he asked with an amused smile that brightened his face.
„I thought you were homeless,” said Harry, wide-eyed.
Sirius pouted.
Full on blow pout. Adults don't do that!
Sirius sat down on the sofa opposite Harry and poured himself a cup of tea as an empty cup appeared in front of him. Then he took out an unfamiliar wand and with one wave cleared the tea Harry had sputtered. Harry blushed at this.
„Here,” said Sirius, sending Harry’s wand across the table between them. Harry took it quickly and relaxed at last. He felt much better having it back with him, its presence familiar. Which he welcomed in unfamiliar surroundings.
„So, any questions?” said Sirius, after a moment of silence. Harry was glad he wasn't alone in feeling uneasy about this whole situation. But he didn't want any more explanations; his head couldn't take any more. No new information as to his complicated situation.
„Loopholes with the Trace?” he suggested innocently, and Sirius smiled broadly before going on to explain how the Trace had actually worked. Harry had finally found out why he’d been given a warning by the Ministry when Dobby had been doing magic last year, or at least when he was doing it in front of the Muggles. Also, an explanation for why he’d been given another warning, instead of expulsion, now that he’d blown up Marge. Technically, his family was in the know, thanks to Vernon and his marriage to Petunia, so doing magic in front of her wasn't exactly against the law, it was just frowned upon. A family of magicians from Muggle families were supposed to be in the know, so it wasn’t breaking the Statue of Secrecy. It was still no, like any use of magic outside of school, but accepted in emergencies. Which meant that kids from wizarding families could technically do magic when they were close enough to the adults, but most of them forgot to tell them that fact.
Harry didn't know what to make of it. On the one hand, unfair to the Muggle-borns, who could not use this loop. On the other hand, the Statue of Secrecy was really important, according to everyone, so the preservation made sense.
Before they could look for another topic, however, plates of roast beef and mashed potatoes appeared in front of them. „Thank you, Tiny,” muttered Sirius, before he began to eat and Harry followed suit. He had more on his plate than he normally ate, but remembering Tiny’s outrage when she said how thin he was, he preferred to eat it all.
This ensured that his eyes began to close with fatigue when he finished eating.
„You’ve had a busy day. The open door on the first floor is yours. We’ll talk more in the morning,” said Sirius gently. Harry made sure he had his wand in his trouser pocket and left the room with a nod.
He walked down the corridor to the top of the stairs, ignoring the moving and speaking images, and climbed to the top floor. The first door on the left was open and led into a room furnished with a bed in the corner opposite the door, a closet, two empty shelves and a table under the window. On the ceiling, the room was illuminated by a chandelier containing the candlesticks Harry had seen in the Great Hall at Hogwarts, so he assumed they had been enchanted.
He found his trunk and cage beside the bed.
Harry merely pulled out his pyjamas, into which he changed, and left the rest inside. He opened the window so Hedwig could come to him when she arrived and lay down in the bed with the red and purple upholstery. He tucked his hand with wand under his pillow and, before he knew it, plunged into darkness.