Chapter Text
Sirius tumbled arse over teakettle, Bella's mad cackling still echoing in his ears. Somehow, he had never thought that there would be anything solid on the other side of the Veil of Death.
(Granted, he'd never thought much of anything at all about the Veil of Death, but still.)
Picking up his wand from where it had fallen when he landed, he brushed the gravel (gravel?) from his robes and looked around.
And froze.
A sight he'd revisited far too often in Azkaban met his eyes - James' home in Godric's Hollow, roof blown to smithereens, smoke writhing like a living thing clawing at the sky. A thin piercing wail cut through the chilly evening breeze and Sirius found his feet moving before he'd consciously recognized the sound of baby Harry's distress.
Halfway up the stairs to the nursery, it occurred to him to wonder if he'd landed in Hell. This was the scene of his worst day and his worst nightmares. Would it be as he remembered really happened - Harry squalling weakly but alive, blood trickling down his face with the tears?
Or would it be the nightmare where Voldemort still stood, gloating, wand at the ready to kill him as soon as he stepped over the threshold?
Or the one where Harry was dead in his crib, where James and Lily were dead, but still able to talk, accusing him of all his many many sins and failngs?
Or maybe the one where evil red eyes glared hatefully at him out of his Godson's face? (That he'd only started having after learning that Harry's dreams weren't just dreams and he sometimes saw through Voldie's eyes. Or his snake's.)
No. It was as he remembered. Lily lay crumpled in front of the crib, fiery hair splayed in a fierce aurora around her. Harry's tear filled eyes met his - brilliant emerald, just as they should be - as he reached out between the bars of his crib, begging to be held, to be reassured that "Unca Pa'foo" was there.
(He was. He was there, and he was not going to leave. Not this time. Not again.)
Reaching out for Harry, half afraid this vision - this memory - would crumble to dust, Sirius' mind began running ahead. He needed to leave, before anyone else showed up, before Hagrid took Harry from his arms. He cuddled his Godson close, shushing and reassuring him as he began walking toward the door, summoning things almost at random as he went - clothes, toys (especially the toy broom*), Lily's research notes and reference books, James' half-finished Auror reports, the magical portrait of Charlus and Dorea, the baby-safe medical and first aid kits Lily had prepared ... - and shrinking them into the prepared diaper bag that always sat by the door, ready for an outing.
Harry was sniffling, but calmer as they exited the house, snuggled against his chest in the baby sling. (Muggles did have some useful ideas!)
Sirius shrank his motorbike - it was too noisy to risk - and apparated away.
They landed in a park near muggle Rye - the medieval town in Sussex had been a favorite for picnics and short outings. The Rye harbor recreation area was picturesque and far-removed from the realities of the War. He let the chill wind and happier memories clear his mind as he debated where to go - Black houses were definitely a no-go. He was not going to take baby Harry to Grimmauld, it was bad enough with teen Harry.
Not going to Weasleys, either - he wouldn't put up with Molly ordering him around and not letting him spend time with Harry when Harry needed him. Not again. Harry was his and that was final. (He didn't consider difference in ages and situations, just panic and memories.)
His flat in muggle Liverpool was also a no-go. Dumbledore knew about it, would hunt him down, take Harry, leave him to rot in Azkaban again. nonononono. Same with Remus' hidden mountain shack.
Besides, Remus would be using it next week. Or was it this week? Either way, Sirius was not going to put him out of his safe place.
Peter's... wait, Peter! Slimy little rat betrayer. Maybe it was too late to catch him - he'd been packing to flee the first time when Sirius chased him out into the street and... it hadn't gone well. But Peter was set to flee, and the Marauders were the only ones who knew about the safehouse they'd set up to protect him as the Secret Keeper. James had been the Keeper for that Secret, too, so Wormy couldn't even have told any of his Death Muncher buddies.
(What happened to the Secret when the Keeper died? He'd have to check whether Wormy could tell people about it now... hmmm.)
He looked at the toddler, wrapped warmly in his coat and now drowsing. "Harry, Peter Pettigrew's safe haven is The Rathole, located across from 155 Surrey in Accrington."
Drat. He'd been able to share it. Well, still. If Peter ran off, it would at least be somewhat safe for a few days.
(Or maybe he'd surprise Peter again and finally kill the little Rat.)
Sirius disillusioned himself and Harry, added a couple of silencing charms, took a moment to make sure all the bags were stowed securely, and apparated to an alley near Peter's place, wand at the ready as he silently approached. Not in a panic about what might have befallen his friend, Sirius was ready to cast first and ask questions never.
The door was unlocked and ajar.
Sirius lowered his wand, assuming Peter had already fled, and in such haste that he hadn't bothered properly closing up, only to hear shuffling. He quietly cast a Super-sensory Charm, and edged forward to peek into the room. Peter was pulling his jacket on, patting his pockets, nose twitching in a way that made him look rattier than ever. Sirius bit back a growl, but Peter must have heard something and turned toward the door, a look of terror in his face.
Quick as a thought, Sirius Stupefied him and levitated Peter back into the apartment, closing the door behind him. After tying Peter up with both magical and mundane ropes, he set a drowsy Harry down safely on the rug in the bedroom, out of sight of the traitor and safe from any mishaps.
He took a minute to breathe and calm down. He really, really wanted to kill the Rat, and didn't trust the Ministry not to let him escape, but he'd promised himself - promised Harry that he wouldn't rush into things, that he'd be here. And... and he was an Auror right now in his past, and it feels so real. Just in case the afterlife followed the same rules (stupid though some of them were) as real life had, he'd have to do this right, make sure they couldn't take Harry away. Couldn't put him away.
He could question Peter and submit the memory instead of a live Rat. Except that would also be proof that he'd committed murder, and he couldn't go to Azkaban again. Nonono... not again. Not with Harry here, needing him.
But Crouch had gotten the Unforgiveables permitted... not that Sirius was going to. Just that he could. And if a prisoner happened to accidentally be killed while escaping custody, well...
That had potential.
Sirius thought and plotted as he made sure Harry was dry, fed, and sleeping peacefully (the Somnus charm was a marvel for busy parents; he was glad Lily had taught it to them all) and hit the Rat with another Stunner, just to make sure he'd have a headache when (if) he woke up.
And then... A few little Marauder-type preparations and one Imperio later - since there was a distinct lack of Veritaserum to force the truth from the rat - Sirius soon had all the proof he needed, asking Peter question after question about what else he'd done to aid MoldyVoldie's cause.
(It hadn't been just the Potters, after all. So many Order safehouses had been compromised, which was why they'd started looking for a traitor. (Poor Remus! - Sirius would have to get in touch with him soon.) So many people had died, Order members and their families, Aurors (it had seemed so harmless, talking with James about work while Peter was in the room. He was suddenly aware of his own culpability in being an accidental leak and the blood on his hands), innocent bystanders...)
Peter's betrayals were wider and more numerous than he'd ever thought in his previous life, so focused on the personal betrayal. He stretched the interrogation until he heard Harry stirring and beginning to fuss, asked a couple last questions and ended the Imperio. Glared at Peter with the growled warning to behave and stay put, and gone into the bedroom to collect and reassure Harry, confident that Peter would take the opportunity. He relished the sudden squealing as one of the traps he'd set caught a very naughty Rat while he was in the middle of a diaper change. A minute later, with Harry on his hip, he returned to find the bludgeoned Rat spinning slowly in the doorway, suspended upside down by a Levicorpus.
Mindful of his future Penseive audience, he cast another stunner and Incarcerous before releasing the Rat. The very dead Rat.
Sirius smiled, and called Head Auror Moody and Junior Auror Bones. They showed up as he was trying to get Harry to eat some applesauce.
Three hours later, with Peter's death properly logged, Sirius' memories of the arrest and 'accidental death resisting arrest' (The (overpowered) Bludgeoning Hex in the door trap was intended to break legs, honest!) officially collected, catalogued and stored, Sirius' official report of the entire incident written up and handed off, and Sirius having gotten a week off to take care of the matter of gaining custody of his Godson and get the boy settled, they Apparated to Gringotts.
Not only did goblins have a monopoly on Banking in the Wizarding World (and fingers in a surprising number of muggle banks as well), they provided secure storage of important documents (like wills) and verification of the authenticity of said documents and identity of those claiming them. Blood Magic of all kinds was illegal in the Wizarding World, but not among the goblins. And - as long as it was done by goblins, on goblin land, under goblin laws - there was nothing the Ministry could do without violating at least three Treaties and starting another Goblin War. Not to mention there were quite a few Purebloods who took full advantage of this fact, and the additional fact that many of the most powerful Healing Rituals involved Blood Magic. Sirius wasn't quite sure what was going on with Harry - Dumbledore had never been forthcoming with any sort of details - but if anyone could fix it, it would be the goblins.
He was not going to fail Harry again.
Other thoughts and future plot points
Sirius knows he's not all right in the head, being back here and having Harry is like a fever dream that mixes weirdly with his memories and trauma. He's reacting as though it's all real (it is) but deeper thoughts and questions of whys and what ifs are just waiting in the wings to ambush him. The shock of finding out about the Harry-Horcrux and the Ordeal of getting it removed - and the utter horror of realizing Dumbledore had simply left it there to put down roots, anchoring itself in Harry and grown stronger - is also nightmare fodder. When they come, he'll snuggle Harry, afraid he's just a mirage that will vanish. Sirius becomes the epitome of a helicopter parent, convinced that if he doesn't have Harry with him it will all disappear. Everything revolves around Harry. It takes nearly three years before he is willing to be more than a room away for more than a few minutes. He never, ever leaves Dumbledore alone with Harry. Or Molly Weasley. Barely ever Remus. He doesn't want to risk losing this afterlife.
Eventually he open up to Remus (at about a year) - the whole lived, framed, died, here again. Remus eventually gets him to work with a professional (a Mind Healer, but Sirius thinks they are a historian) to write out a time line of everything he knows happened, piecing it together from stories and letters (and a lot of Pensieve time). The Healer is convinced he did, actually live that life and eventually convinces him the Veil of Death was less about Death and more about Time Travel - which is a known, though limited, phenomenon. They check up on things he remembers, verifying some, but finding differences as well. Harry's relatives do live where he remembered them, but Mrs. Figg doesn't. Sirius is surprised at the difference, and the Healer uses it as proof that the world exists outside his perception, that it's not just a figment of his imagination, waiting to vanish, by pointing out that Mrs. Figg most likely moved there to be near enough to keep an eye on Harry; without Harry there, she hadn't needed to move. That's the turning point, that's when he's finally able to let Remus watch Harry for 15 minutes while he walks to the corner store and back. Then 30. Then an hour. Then an evening. Never more than an evening, and only with Remus, but it's progress.
By the time he attends Hogwarts, Harry is both ready to be away from his hovering Godfather - long since become his adopted Dad - and just as paranoid as Sirius about something bad happening. Harry has gotten so used to having plans upon plans with extra backup plans that he Sorts Slytherin. Draco is still a pest, but a semi-familiar pest due to the Family Connection. Sirius' lingering dislike of Molly Weasley has Harry also leery of close relations, though the Weasleys were 'safe' kids for him to play with and he does have a degree of friendship. With Sirius in charge and rabidly territorial, the fame of the Boy-Who-Lived does not reach the same fever pitch, and with Harry's whereabouts and history not being fantasticized and romanticised, he actually gets to be (mostly) just another student. Sirius did ask him to keep an eye out for Hermione - and other muggleborns by extension - because Sirius, at least, knows she saved his life once upon a Third Year adventure. He's been pushing early integration programs for muggleborns - partly from an Auror's POV of 'easier to deal with accidental magic if the parents know who to call', though he uses 'less likely for innocents to be burned at the stake if we get there early' type appeals, too. It's a work in progress, but at least the lighter Pure Blood families are taking a more active role in teaching the muggleborns. Consequently, a proper Integration Class is now taught at Hogwarts - a precursor to Muggle Studies for the wix raised and an intro to the magical world for the muggle raised. Basic things like etiquette and fashion, relevant laws, who to call if you get lost or in trouble on either side, how to use a telephone, call a taxi, use the Floo, and mail a letter in both worlds. (The Aurors have, in fact, seen a notable decrease in Statute of Secrecy violations since the class started 5 years ago.)
Dumbledore had eventually been ousted from his positions over the issues of hiring Snape (who left Britain at the first opportunity) and giving 'Imperioused' Death Eaters no-strings-attached second chances. (Some do, still, avoid Azkaban, but they are watched more closely and are much more cautious how they use the power and influence they eventually manage to rebuild. {Most were Slytherin, of course they're going to work to re-establish themselves and rehabiilitate their reputations.}) His absence was a key point in getting the class approved. Bonus: there is no Philosopher's Stone to attract Voldie to Hogwarts, nor is the Mirror of Erised stashed in an unrestricted room to ensnare the unwary.
Hagrid's cerberus is discovered, confiscated and relocated once it gets too big to keep hidden in his hut, and Hagrid's animal collection hobby is investigated. In the process, the acromantula colony is discovered and neutralized and Hagrid's innocence in Myrtle's death is confirmed. Too old for formal schooling (and Dumbledore not being there to dissuade him), Hagrid is offered a job at a dragon sanctuary. He is quite happy.
(Unable to deal with not seeing Harry every day, Sirius wangles the job of DADA teacher for Harry's second year. Many shenanigans ensue, but Voldie's unfortunate hobby of hiding bits of his soul here and there is discovered - Sirius recognizes the Horcrux for what it is; he'd been there when a similar evil had been purged from his beloved Godson. Once again, he enlists the goblin's help.)