A/N: Hey there everyone! Yes, I'm still alive. I'm sorry it's been so long. A lot has been going on. I'm not going to get into it.

Thanks again for the reviews and favorites. It really means a lot to know that you guys like my story and want me to keep going with it. I've also decided for now to just keep writing in normal POV instead of individual.

So here's Chapter 4. I hope you guys enjoy!

Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Harry Potter, so no one can sue.

Chapter 4

The next several days were rather miserable ones. Harry was still in a great deal of pain from his injuries, and more than once he had woken up in a feverish haze, sick, moaning, and terrified. It pained Sirius to watch his godson suffer through this, and he wished he could do more for him; not for the first time in the week that he had been granted custody of Harry did he curse his godson's Muggle relatives.

Sirius had not seen Remus for nearly three days now. Yesterday had been the full moon, and Sirius wondered how the werewolf had fared. He was missing his friend's company, but he was also simultaneously worried about him.

'I should make a trip to see Dumbledore soon,' the Animagus mused. 'Perhaps when Moony comes back.'

Sirius had been putting this particular task off; Harry had been so sick lately that he was afraid to leave him for very long, even if he was sleeping. Maybe when Remus returned, if Harry was better, Sirius would ask him to watch him while he spoke with Dumbledore.

Sirius' mind then wandered to the Dursleys. What pathetic excuses for human beings… Sirius would even be willing to rate them lower than Severus Snape, and even his own parents, on his scale of 'Most Vile Human Beings to Walk this Earth.' And that was saying something. He wanted justice for his godson, proof to Harry that this was over. He just didn't know how to go about it. Every time Sirius thought about the Dursleys and what they did to his precious godson, he just got so angry. He wanted to scream, break something, throw things, to hex something, to literally rip Vernon Dursley limb from bloody limb. The dog inside him snarled. He wanted revenge so bad he could taste it; almost as bad as he had wanted revenge on Peter. No one, no one, hurt his pup and got away with it.

'Padfoot, calm down,' Sirius chastised himself. 'That's not going to do you or Harry any good. You have to go about this properly.'

Properly. That's another reason why Sirius wanted to speak with Dumbledore. He wanted Vernon Dursley locked up – or something. Should he go about this in the Muggle world, or file a report with the DMLE? Where would Dursley's punishment be more severe? Could muggles go to Azkaban for committing severe crimes against wizards? Sirius almost smirked at the thought. If he chose the DMLE, would they be discreet, given Harry's fame? Was there a way to ensure this didn't get to the Prophet? Sirius had to think about everything now; he couldn't go barging in their house tossing hexes around. That kind of behavior would get him sent straight back to Azkaban – rightfully, this time – and then where would that leave Harry? Back with them, a thought Sirius couldn't stomach. No, Sirius was a parent now, as strange as it felt to think of it that way. He had to think of what was best for Harry, and their small family as a whole.

He watched as Harry slept on, a grimace of pain etched across his features. In this moment, Sirius felt so responsible; he didn't even try to stop it when hot, fresh tears rolled down his face. He felt like the worst godfather in the world – because of a mistake he made nearly fifteen years ago, Harry had ended up with those deplorable people. As he had done so many times in the past few days, he took his godson's hand. Even in his sleep, Harry twitched at the contact.

"James, Lily," Sirius quietly choked out, "I'm so sorry. Harry, pup, I'm sorry. I should have been there. This never should have happened to you. I've failed all of you. I should have been taking care of you that night, but I was being selfish and young and stupid. But I swear it, Harry, I'm here to take care of you and protect you now. I promise."

Sirius wiped his face with his free hand and watched his godson sleep. There really wasn't much else to do. He noted that Harry's fever had gone down – that was a good sign. Maybe he wouldn't be quite as delirious when he woke up today.

Not long after, Remus Lupin came striding up the ward. He looked extremely tired, and Sirius could see possibly a new scratch that was healing, but he looked all right as far as Sirius could tell. He was also carrying an edition of the Daily Prophet.

"Alright, Moony?" Sirius asked as Remus sat down in the chair next to him. "How was the full moon?"

Remus shrugged. "I've been better. I've been worse, too. How has Harry been?"

Sirius shook his head. "Not very good – he's had a fever the past few days. His pain has been worse and he's been delirious. His fever seems to have gone down some today, though, so maybe he'll have a bit of a relief from it."

Remus frowned and nodded.

"Have you been to see Dumbledore yet?" he asked.

"No," Sirius replied. "I've been too scared to leave Harry."

Remus' face hardened slightly at this, as if confirming that Harry's condition was as bad as he thought, but he said nothing. Instead, he handed Sirius the Daily Prophet he had brought with him.

"I thought you might like to see this," he said, changing the subject. "I knew you hadn't seen it, but it's a few days old."

Sirius unfolded the paper and was immediately shocked by what he saw. It was a picture of himself, taken at he Ministry after his trial, smiling at the camera wearing his best set of robes (looking rather dashing, if he did say so himself). Next to it was Wormtail's sniveling mug shot, cowering from what was presumably dementors. The headline read:

Sirius Black – Innocent!

Peter Pettigrew – Alive and Guilty!

Underneath the pictures, a reporter had drawn up a story about Sirius' trial.

Wed., 26 June, 1996 – Smudgley. Shocking news has rocked the Wizarding community in the last week. It appears that 'mass-murderer' Sirius Black was never a murderer after all. As if this weren't shocking enough, Peter Pettigrew, one of the thirteen people for whom Black was accused of murdering, was arrested last week at the break-in at the Ministry. The man was questioned, and he was indeed proven to be Pettigrew. Pettigrew also bears the Dark Mark – the symbol of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named; Mr. Black however does not.

In a rare double-trial Wizengamot case, Mr. Black agreed to the use of Veritaserum and was cleared of all his previous charges – those being: having betrayed Lily and James Potter, parents of Harry Potter, to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, the murder of Peter Pettigrew, murdering twelve Muggles, and being a Death Eater. Mr. Black spent twelve years in Azkaban prison, until which time he became the first person to ever break out. Being that he was innocent in the first place, the Wizengamot overlooked this and instead Mr. Black was awarded several thousand galleons (the specific amount we are not at liberty to disclose) to add to his already vast fortune as reimbursement for his unjust time spent in Azkaban. Mr. Black was never given a trial when he was first imprisoned.

However, one asks, "How did he escape?" Well, that's exactly what we asked him.

"I'm an animagus," Mr. Black said simply. "I changed into my animal and slipped though the bars."

This fact also came to light during his trial, but the Wizengamot felt that since Mr. Black had already spent so much time in Azkaban, just docking some money off his payment and registering him was a fair trade.

One also questions the sanity of Mr. Black. Having been locked in Azkaban for twelve years, how did he keep from going insane? We asked him ourselves.

"I just kept repeating to myself, 'I'm innocent,' 'I didn't do it.' It became my mantra; as long as I remembered the truth and held onto that, I had something to fight for. And my godson. I thought about Harry constantly," Mr. Black stated. "I also had the option of my animagus form – dementors can't sense animals as well, and it confuses them."

And where has Peter Pettigrew been all this time? This story even shocked us at the Daily Prophet. Under the admission of Veritaserum, or 'Truth Serum,' Pettigrew admitted to having been the Potter's Secret Keeper. He agreed to the responsibility when Mr. Potter and Mr. Black believed that Mr. Black would be 'too obvious a choice' as 'they were closer than brothers.' So Mr. Black and Pettigrew made the switch, fooling even Albus Dumbledore, who up until two years ago had not been made aware of this fact. Pettigrew admitted that by this point, he had long been a Death Eater, having joined the ranks shortly after graduating Hogwarts. He claimed he 'did not feel included or important in his group of friends,' which is ultimately what caused him to turn to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

After Pettigrew's betrayal of the Potters, Mr. Black went to check on them, having felt that something was amiss. He found their house in ruins and knew immediately what had happened. He set out to find his former friend.

"We all knew there was a traitor in the group," said Mr. Black. "We never expected him, though. Not shy, quiet, Peter Pettigrew. I had every intention of revenge that night. I just can't understand how a person can give up their friends to someone when they know that person is going out to kill them…"

When Mr. Black confronted Pettigrew, Pettigrew became hysterical. He blew up the street they were on after shouting how Mr. Black had betrayed his dearest friends, sentencing them to their deaths. The blast from Pettigrew's curse killed the twelve muggles nearest them. Pettigrew then cut off his finger, leaving that to be the only trace of himself at the scene.

Pettigrew is also an unregistered animagus. He takes the form a rat (ironic, no?), and it therefore earned him the nickname 'Wormtail.' After cutting off his finger, 'Wormtail' transformed into his rat form and ran of into the sewers. Mr. Black tried to capture him, but was not quick enough.

When Mr. Black was apprehended, he was found laughing. We also asked him about this reaction.

"Well, at the time I couldn't really process everything," he said. "James and I had always been pranksters. I was kind of hoping this was all some elaborate joke of his – that he'd set it up as a Halloween prank. It was too ironic, Wormtail being the rat when his animagus form really is a rat. And none of us even considered him for a second. If I stopped laughing, I'd start crying, because my whole world had just fallen apart. I had just lost my best friend who was like my brother and his wife, and I had been framed, so I couldn't raise my godson. And I didn't even get a trail. In Azkaban, you don't see people anymore, so I lost my friends as well. I was only 21."

So the question remains: where has Pettigrew been all these years? Apparently, right under our noses. After fleeing Ministry capture, whom should he run to but the Weasley family? The youngest Weasley son, Ronald, just happens to be Harry Potter's best friend. Pettigrew disguised himself as the family's 'pet rat' for exactly twelve years – first as Ronald's older brother Percy's pet, then as Ronald's. He only came out of hiding when Mr. Black discovered and exposed him to Ronald two years ago. After that, he again fled Ministry capture and went on a mission to seek out He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He found him, and he helped him return to full power. He also aided He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in the murder of Cedric Diggory and the attempted murder of Harry Potter last year during the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Pettigrew was blessedly caught at the Ministry break-in last week, and will serve a fifteen-year sentence in Azkaban prison, ending in the Dementor's Kiss.

Where does that leave our Mr. Black? Rumor has it that the to the master of Most Noble and Ancient House of Black has been awarded sole custody of his godson, Harry Potter. It is also said that he has plans to buy a very large house for the two of them somewhere in Britain with the gold he was awarded from Ministry. Mr. Black would not comment on this, nor was young Mr. Potter available for comment. Our sources tell us that despite the claims of Mr. Black being a deranged mass-murderer, and that he's been in Azkaban in for the vast majority of the Boy-Who-Lived's life, Mr. Black maintains a strong relationship with his godson. (A full-coverage story of the Black-Pettigrew trials can be found on pg. C8.)

Sirius put down the paper. He wasn't quite sure what to make of it. The article was quite long, and actually had facts – not Rita Skeeter's load of waffle. He handed Remus back the paper.

"Would you mind watching Harry for a bit?" asked Sirius. "I need to go have that talk with Dumbledore now."

Remus merely nodded and turned his gaze upon Harry.

As Sirius left the hospital wing, he looked back to Harry and sighed.

"Fizzing Whizbees," Sirius offered as he stood outside the two stone gargoyles that led to Dumbledore's office. As soon as he had arrived, he realized he didn't have the password and had been going through all the sweets he could think of for the last few minutes. The gargoyles still did not move.

"Erm… Ice mice?" Nothing. "Cockroach cluster? Bertie Bott's? Merlin's pants, I've tried every bloody thing… Acid pops?"

Suddenly, the gargoyle sprang to life, allowing Sirius access to the stairs to the Headmaster's office.

Sirius reached the door and knocked.

"Come in."

When he walked into the office, he found Albus Dumbledore standing by the window, surveying the Hogwarts grounds and appearing to be deep in thought.

"Headmaster," said Sirius respectfully.

"Ah, Sirius," said Dumbledore, finally turning to look at him, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk. "Have a seat. I was wondering when you would come see me. Please, call me Albus, you are no longer my student."

Sirius sat in the chair in front of the Headmaster's desk as Dumbledore sat in his own across from him. Suddenly, Sirius felt overwhelmingly like a schoolboy again, being reprimanded for a prank he had helped to orchestrate, and the Headmaster was searching him with those piercing blue eyes.

"Would you like some tea, Sirius?" Dumbledore said suddenly. "You look like you could use it, if you don't mind me being so bold as to say so. I know these past few haven't been easy."

Sirius let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding and sank back into his chair. "Yes, thank you, Hea – Albus. Tea would be nice."

With a flick of his wand, Dumbledore conjured two teacups and a pot full of hot tea. When they both had their cups of tea, Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and spoke again.

"How is Harry? I assume he is what you came to talk to me about?"

Sirius sipped his tea, and then nodded. "He's about the same. He's healing, so he has a fever from the speed of the process, and Madame Pomfrey said she couldn't give him too much fever-reducing potion because it will react badly with the other potions he's taking. But his fever is making him delusional, and being delusional makes him disoriented and scared. And he still isn't used to eating much, if at all, so he's pretty sick. But that isn't what I came to talk to you about."

Sirius sat his teacup down on the saucer that was on the desk and ran a wear hand over his face. When he looked up, he saw Dumbledore staring into his cup, swilling dregs around, an obviously pained look on his face.

"Please continue," the wizened headmaster said. "What did you come to discuss with me?"

"Well," said Sirius, taking a moment to clear his throat, "I want to bring charges against the Dursleys."

Dumbledore seemed to consider what Sirius had just said, and finally reunited his teacup with its saucer. He pressed his fingertips together in front of his face and peered at Sirius over his spectacles.

"You understand, of course, that this would be no easy case," Dumbledore stated. Sirius nodded. "Very well. Have you spoken with Harry about this?"

"Not yet," Sirius answered. "I wanted to be able to give him some information before I suggested it."

"Understandable. I have the feeling you have some questions?"

'Finally,' thought Sirius.

"Yes," Sirius answered. "Given Harry's situation – the fame, this happened in the muggle world – where would be the best place to take action against them? I don't want the Prophet to get wind of this. I want him to be protected from that; he's already been through enough. Where does Dursley have the best chance of getting the most punishment? I want him put away for good."

Dumbledore seemed to think for a moment.

"I believe I know someone in the DMLE who is fair and will be discreet. I'm sure Amelia Bones will take the case and make Harry's privacy a priority. As far as punishment for Vernon Dursley, I'm not sure how they would handle that. He would probably go to a muggle prison, considering he is a muggle and these things occurred in the muggle world. If we could get memories from Harry and the medical records from Poppy, Harry might not even have to testify at the trial. But that's only if the jury believes they have enough evidence that they don't need Harry's physical testimony."

Sirius merely nodded.

"I don't think Harry will like having to provide memories, but it's the lesser of two evils. I'll talk to him about it."

Dumbledore nodded.

"You should probably get back to the hospital wing and see how young Mr. Potter takes this news. I'll owl Madame Bones about starting the case. This is going to take a long time, Sirius."

Sirius stood and sighed.

"Thanks, Professor."

Dumbledore merely waved away his thanks as Sirius headed for the office door. He could have sworn he heard the wizened headmaster mutter, "Believe me, Sirius, I owe this and more to Harry. It's entirely my fault."

A/N: So that's chapter 4. I hope you guys enjoyed it. It wasn't quite as long as I would have liked, and I know it wasn't my best chapter, but hey, at least I updated. If you're reading 'Harry's Wish' as well, I'm hoping to update that within the week. Please read and review! Thanks everyone!