Chapter ONE

Tragedy strikes and worlds collide.

James Alexander Potter sighed as his wife changed their son and set him down for the night. They were supposed to be leaving him in the very capable hands of his Godfather's for the night for the first time since he was born. But Lily Rein Evans Potter was having severe separation issues. James tried not to laugh as she bent over the crib and fluffed pillows and blankets fussily. He smiled slightly when she started to sing that lullaby softly in the sweet lilting voice. Their little boy was spoilt rotten and his mother loved him more than the stars and the moon. But if they didn't leave soon they wouldn't get to the gala and James had missed so many of them he was in danger of getting kicked off his own companies board.

"Lils come on Sirius and Remus will look after him. He'll be fine we have to go like half an hour ago" he sighed knowing he'd have to pry her away with a crowbar.

Remus was leaning against the changing unit with a soft fond smile. Sirius was standing behind them with his semi attached video camera. The man hadn't put it down since Lilly first announced she was pregnant. If he wasn't filming the 'important bits' he was snapping pictures and causing general mayhem in the Potter household.

"James look at him...do I have to go?" Lily flashed him her wide green eyes that never failed to melt him where he stood.

He frowned this time though. That had happened the past three times they'd been supposed to go out. Sirius had filmed each and every time he caved and gave in. He was doubtless storing it all as future blackmail. That or to embarrass Harry when he was older and tried to date. He could just imagine the poor girl or boy stepping into the house and being guided to a movie screen full of his overly smothering mother and his wimpy dad always caving in to her desires to spoil her little Prince.

"No Lily, this is important. We have to go" he sighed and moved to pry her fingers gently from the crib bars.

"Come on Lils. It's one night. He'll be here when we get back. Hell the little tyke will likely sleep through the whole thing. He won't even know we've been gone" he coaxed gently.

It took another half an hour and numerous rushes back to kiss Harry's brow before he finally got her into the car. He swore to God if he managed to get halfway through the party without her dragging him home he'd be grateful.

James almost burst out laughing when mid way through his conversation with a stuck up arrogant investor for potter Industries lily barged up to them.

"We have to go home. I miss my baby and if I stay here much longer I'll go on a murderous rampage" she declared not even giving Ralph Fletchly a second look.

James sighed and checked his watch. He'd been here nearly an hour. He'd talked to the major heads of the board for Potter industries and schmoozed two other investors like the perfect poster boy. He mentally apologised to his late parents for letting down the family name again. Then he smiled gamely at his beautiful wife and nodded.

"Come on then. I bet the little bugger misses his mum too" he grinned

She practically squealed and threw her arms around his shoulders.

"Perfect!" she beamed and then ran off to fetch her purse and shawl.

"Mr Potter you can't leave so early" Amaryllis Leighton his personal secretary when he was actually in work as the head of the family business was looking slightly alarmed.

"Relax, if I don't let her go home she will cause a very bad scene" he sighed "We can manage with me leaving early, can you really cope with a red head explosion of hormonal maternal temper?" he asked innocently

Lily arrived wrapped up and ready to go. She was quite literally quaking with eagerness.

HPGLEE

Sirius grinned as soon as Lily and James left the house.

"Yes! Finally the mother has left the building. I can corrupt my baby godson in peace" he beamed bouncing forwards as zooming his film in on the tiny baby sleeping so peacefully in the beautiful antique crib.

"Sirius" Remus murmured warningly. "Don't go waking him up Lily will quite literally kill you"

Sirius paid him no mind and swung the very startled baby up into his arms leaving the camcorder on the side. Harry let out an indignant baby squeal and then started screaming his little lungs out.

"Sirius!" Remus shouted frantically as he swung the baby around and started dancing with him.

"Put him down Sirius you're scaring him" Remus hissed

Harry was now red faced and breathing hard as he cried his heart out.

"He's fine" Sirius shrugged.

Remus closed his eyes and tried not to get angry. He'd told James over and over that Sirius was too young and irresponsible to look after a baby. He loved Sirius but really what was James thinking?

He pried the now whimpering baby from Sirius and shushed him softly. He fell back slowly into Lilly's rocking chair and slowly started to hum Lilly's lullaby. Harry calmed slightly and stared up at him with those wide curious green eyes so like his mother. Remus smiled back at him and stroked his fine baby curls.

"Hey there little man" he cooed.

Harry gave a baby sigh and shudder worn out from his hysterics.

"You can't do this Siri" he sighed watching as Harry drooped asleep exhausted from his crying and fright.

"I-I didn't mean-" Sirius looked shocked and a little scared.

Remus just frowned at him and shook his head lips pursed.

"Just go warm a bottle of milk Siri"

They didn't get much further than that before there was a ring of the phone. Harry started awake and let out a cry or protest. Remus shushed him gently and walked out to see who could possibly be calling them. He thought perhaps Lilly for a moment. Then Sirius answered and in five seonds their world fell apart.

"What do you mean car accident?" he demanded in a high pitched tone of panic.

"Which hospital?" he demanded sharply

Remus clutched Harry to him like a lifeline as he felt his knees go weak.

"Yes we'll be there"

GLEEHP

At five thirty on the morning of November the first Harry James Rein Potter was declared an Orphan. Remus clutched the tiny bundle of blankets to his chest and tried to breath. Sirius freaked out and went nuts. He screamed he cried and ranted and demanded to know where the drunk driver who had murdered his best friends was.

At noon a week later they were all huddled in a very high end office at the top of a high rise in the centre of London. Remus and Sirius were at one side with baby Harry between them in a pram. There were a few business associates of the Potter family and long time family friends. People they'd known since boarding school. There were also a few people they didn't know. The meeting was solemn and hardly anybody spoke as everyone arrived and settled in at the glass and steel table.

"We are here for the reading of the joint Potter-Evans Will" the smartly dressed solicitor began softly.

Remus clasped Sirius' hand to control him when he twitched like he was about to move. His tantrum had been front page news for a week. All the bad behaviour because of his grief had hit the news in some form or other. You couldn't be a member of high society connected to the infamous potter family legacy and get away with that sort of thing without anyone noticing. Sirius had shamed his own family name so many times he was surprised one of his relations hadn't openly disowned him yet.

Remus tried to reel him in but it was hard when you had to look after a very confused toddler who wanted his mummy. Listening to Harry's broken 'ma-mamamamamamamamdaadddddaaaaa' all week had nearly killed him.

The funeral had been horrible. The media frenzy was a disgraceful. Harry was smack in the middle of it as the new Potter heir. He was the richest little boy in Europe at only one and a half. Everyone wanted to know just where Harry was going to grow up now.

Remus had very quickly put down Dumbledore a prominent member on the Potter board of members when he suggested Petunia Harry's aunt. He had also refused to let Harry get temporarily placed there until this was over. Dumbledore might look like a kindly old politician who worked for Potter industries as an advisor but Remus knew the man was a scheming shark. He'd kill to have power over Potter industries.

He was knocked back into the present by half the people in the room leaving.

"That concludes the business assets of the Will. This next section is entirely personal" the solicitor sighed.

Remus twitched slightly and looked around the table. There weren't many people left. Lily's awful sister and obese husband were up the other end of the table. A young couple who were holding hands sat half way down with a small delicate looking girl perched on the man's knee. Then there was them and just slightly further up on the opposite side were two of the board members of Potter Ind. Obviously there to make arrangements for the heir of their business when they knew what was happening to him.

GLEEHP

Remus stared at the empty travel cot he'd put in his and Sirius' apartment for Harry's visits blankly. Sirius had gone to hit a bar. He had ranted, raged and then stormed out of the Will reading like a petulant child. Remus just felt hollow. He'd thought James was being naive to make Sirius Harry's guardian should anything happen to them. He barely qualified as a baby sitter. But this he did not expect. Rose Amelia Evans-Anderson and her husband Joseph Lucas Anderson would have custody of Harry. Rose was Lilly's step sister from an affair her father had with a Filipino woman on his honeymoon. Her father had been a drunk asshat and had dumped Rose on his wife without so much as a by your leave. But Lilly loved her half sister with everything in her. She had talked constantly at Hogwarts about her slightly older sister who went to an American girls academy. That was as far as Grace Evans could toss the unwanted bastard child of her husband. But when she met Joseph and got married Lilly had flown to America just to be bridesmaid and meet his family for the first time. Lily was the only person in Rose's paternal family who accepted her and talked to her. Remus hadn't even met her before. He'd heard when she got pregnant just two years before Lilly and had a little girl. He'd heard she had a son too about the same time as Lily. But they'd never spoken much of Rose. Mostly because Lily tried not to make her mother angry or upset by 'fraternising' with the enemy. Poor Rose had never been accepted by Mrs Evans and her drunken husband hadn't cared less when the poor Filipino waitress had dumped her starving child in his arms and asked him to give her a better life.

But now Remus had met the woman and he couldn't deny harry would grow up loved and cherished by the sister who had never had that love in Lily's own home. Petunia hadn't even looked at Harry the entire meeting. But Rose had brought her three year old daughter Amelia over and cooed at him sweetly. She had called him a sweet darling and fussed over him in that same way they had watched Lily so many times. Remus felt like his heart would break right then. Joseph had put a steady warm hand on his shoulder and looked at him with steady hazel eyes.

"We will look after him. You can visit as much as you wish and be involved in his life. We're not taking him away from you" he'd said so steady and calm.

Remus had broken down fully for the first time all week and sobbed as they took that precious little baby away from him. Sirius had been so caught up in his childish drama he hadn't even said good bye to his Godson. Remus felt like slapping him right then.

AN

Hi guys so finally over major writers block and I've graduated Uni! so I'm back and I wanted to try to write something without just deleting it unseen for the forst time in a while. Hope you like. Gonna take it slow and see what happens hopefully it will be ok. Ideas and suggestions are always gratefully recieved. Actually I beg you to help me. My block has been killing me and this is the first one in ages I've felt is up to my standard of viewable. Hope it is and I haven't just gone mad with creative stifling :D