Hiya!
So, I love Sirius, and so I thought I'd write a fic about what might've happened if he survived that night at the Ministry. I'm not sure how to go about it later though, as I can't exactly stop after the summer ends. What will happen in Harry's sixth year, I mean, if Sirius had lived... Ah, well, we'll see. Please do review!

M. Sunshine

Harry saw Sirius duck Bellatrix's jet of red light: he was laughing at her.

"Come on, you can do better than that!" he yelled, his voice echoing around the cavernous room. A jet of green light came shooting from the tip of her wand as she screamed in a frustrated way, and narrowly missed Sirius. Harry felt his breathing speed up. That green light. He knew exactly what spell had that colour. Sirius flicked his wand expertly, and to Harry's surprise, Bellatrix's wand flew out of her hand and was caught swiftly by Sirius.

"You really do need to practice more." He said matter-of-factly, twiddling her black wand. She screamed again, lunging towards Tonks, who was still unconscious on the stone floor. Before anyone could do anything at all, Tonks' wand was in the Death Eater's hand and she apparated with a loud crack. Suddenly, the room became very quiet. She'd gone. Left. And the other Death Eaters were all sprawled on the floor. Sirius snorted, and pocketed his wand, before braking Bellatrix's in half.

"I hope Tonks' wand doesn't work well for her." He said grimly. "Come on. We should get out of here." Dumbledore nodded, the usual twinkle in his eyes not there at the time; his eyes deep and fierce behind the half-moon glasses. Rushing over, Sirius helped Neville to his feet, and stretched out his hand to help Harry up too.

"I'll Apparate with you to the gates of Hogwarts. You are both to go straight to the Hospital wing. I need to help Dumbledore gather up the other's, including those scumbags." He added, nodding towards the numerous hooded men lying around on the floor. Harry merely nodded, simply too tired to do anything else. His godfather grabbed the two boys firmly, before turning on the spot. In all honesty, Harry barely noticed the apparition. He was so beyond everything, and moved like in a trance. When the cold night air ruffled his hair and caressed his cheeks, he thought he might collapse. And Sirius felt it.

"Come on, mate, just a little longer." He whispered, placing a strong arm around his godson's waist.

"No…" Harry murmured. "You need to… Help… Dumbledore, the others."

"Dumbledore has help from Kingsley and Remus, he'll be fine. And you obviously won't be." Sirius said firmly, steadying the boys on his sides. "Come on now." He flicked his wand at the gates, and after several clicking noises, they swung open, allowing them to enter, to then shut after them. Sirius walked slowly, making sure both the teenage boys were all right after every other step. It took quite a while, but eventually they reached the steps up to the Entrance. As soon as they started walking up, the doors burst open, framing an anxious looking Professor McGonagall.

"Oh, good Heavens." She said, hurrying down the steps to meet them. "Are you all right?" she inquired, looking at her pupils.

"Neville here needs to see Madam Pomfrey." Sirius informed. "I think Harry's just tired, but I'd like her to take a look anyway."

"Yes, of course."

"No, please." Harry protested weakly. "I don't need Madam Pomfrey…"

"Nonsense, Potter. Come along now." Waving her wand delicately, two stretchers appeared, hovering in mid-air. Sirius lay Neville on one of them and then motioned for Harry to lie on the other one.

"You… Have got to be joking." He panted.

"Don't be ridiculous Harry." Sirius snapped, pushing the bespectacled boy down onto the stretcher, making him lie down. With another flick of her wand, McGonagall sent the stretchers moving steadily up the stairs and in through the doors. Harry tried to get up, but realised he couldn't: some spell held him down. Swearing under his breathe, he hoped dearly no students were still up to see this. He was perfectly all right, why didn't Sirius see that? He heard Sirius run off down the path (as he could not Apparate on the grounds) and McGonagall hurrying inside, locking the doors with her wand before following the boys to the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey came hurrying out of her quarters dressed in a nightgown, as Harry and Neville arrived, followed by their haughty Head of House.

"Minerva, what is this all about?" she asked.

"They just came back from the Ministry. Sirius Black was just here, leaving them, but he's gone back to help Albus." The Mediwitch pursed her lips.

"All these adventures." She muttered. "Why is it so hard for the Potter family to stay out of danger? First James, and now Harry. Goodness me…" She kept muttering as she shifted the boys to beds, Transfiguring their clothes into pyjamas, and then started fussing over Neville. Harry felt comfortably drowsy, forgetting he was being held in hospital against his will. The bed was so soft, the pillows so cool, the duvet so nice on his sore body. The voices around him seemed to turn into mumbles and then he tuned them out completely, falling soundly asleep, without being interrupted by dreams for the first time in a long time.

The sound of murmuring voices and clinking of cutlery woke Harry up the next morning. The sun was shining brightly through the large windows, bathing the room in yellowish light. He opened his eyes, blinking at the blurry room, and reaching out for his glasses. They were suddenly slipped over his nose by someone sitting next to him. Sirius, he realised once he could see again.

"Hey mate." He said softly, a trace of his grin lingering on his tired face.

"Hi…" he replied slowly, propping himself up on his elbow. In the bed next to him, Neville was snoring quietly. Across the room, in respective beds, were Hermione, Ginny, Ron and Luna. Hermione was awake, reading a book intently; Ginny seemed half asleep; Luna was looking around with a distant look on her face and Ron was… Eating. He had a tray on his lap, with a plate of egg and bacon on it, and a glass of pumpkin juice on the side. Watching him silently, he noticed purple lines across his arms, disappearing under his t-shirt.

"How are you?" Sirius said, frowning ever so slightly at his godson. Harry rolled his eyes. After having slept properly throughout the night, he felt as good as ever.

"I'm good. I was just tired, I dunno why you made me come here."

"Just to be safe, Harry." Sirius said, and smiled. "I'm glad you're okay."

"What happened with the Death Eaters?" he asked, and then remembered another pressing matter. "And how come you can even be here? Isn't there a prize on your head?"

"Whoa, one question at a time. Right, Death Eaters. We rounded them up and they've been sent to Azkaban until they get a trial." He snorted. "A thing I never got. Anyway, it doesn't matter. Besides, Dumbledore actually managed to clear my name." Harry's mouth fell open.

"You're kidding."

"I never joke around." Harry raised an eyebrow, but Sirius ignored it. "Turns out Wormtail was at the Ministry too. Sneaky little rat. He was in the Atrium as we were leaving. Of course, with Dumbledore there he couldn't escape. The Aurors actually gave him Veritaserum on the spot. I didn't know they could do that… In any case, he confessed the whole thing." He grinned widely.

"So… You're free." Harry said, gobsmacked.

"I am indeed, though it'll take a while until the general public accepts it. Fine with me though. Anyway, that brings me to the next matter." Harry eyed him suspiciously. He had a hunch where this was going, but didn't dare think of it.

"Do you remember what I asked you two years ago, the night we first met?" he asked, looking into those green eyes which were so like Lily's. Harry nodded.

"You… You said I could come and live with you." Said Harry in a low voice. Sirius nodded, an almost sad smile on his face.

"I hope you know, Harry, that the offer still stands." He continued. "I mean… Only if you want to, of course… But after what you've told me about those Muggles I don't suppose they're much of a family either…"

"You mean you want me with you?" Harry asked, ignoring Sirius' rambling. The older man looked surprised.

"Of course I want you." He said. "Your mum and dad made me your godfather, and if you don't want to live with the Dursleys, then screw them." He said. Harry felt a smile appear on his face.

"Live with you… You know, that's the best news I've heard since I got the letter from Hogwarts." Sirius beamed down at him.

"I'll take that as a 'Yes, I would like to live with you', shall I?" he grinned. Harry just rolled his eyes, but his whole body warmed at the thought of it. Living with Sirius. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe he was so lucky.

"I'm not sure if it it's quite that simple." Both Harry and his godfather peered around, to see the Headmaster striding inside, his face slightly solemn.

"What?" Sirius said, rather rudely, Harry couldn't help but note.

"Sirius, you ought to know that Harry has a certain amount of protection as long as he lives with his relatives." Dumbledore said calmly, stopping at the foot of Harry's bed, smiling a small smile at the boy before turning to Sirius.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, though clearly seeing that Sirius knew what the Headmaster had been talking about.

"Harry, when your mother died to save you, she created a kind of shield. A shield that protects you from harm, and to an extent, from Voldemort. This protection will only work as long as you live with someone of your mother's blood, in short, the Dursleys." He eyed the fifteen-year-old boy lying in front of him, the twinkle returned to his piercing blue eyes. "However, there is one other place where the protection will work almost as strongly as with Petunia Dursley." Said the Headmaster.

"So… I can't live with Sirius?" The happiness that had settled in his mind started to melt and disappear, and he felt anger replace it.

"Of course you can, my boy." The Headmaster said, smiling that small, mischievous smile of his. "I was merely saying that you cannot live in your godfather's house." Sirius' expression eased up as the meaning of Dumbledore's words dawned upon him.

"I see." He said. "Well, that could be arranged, I suppose." Harry felt bewildered.

"What can be arranged?" he asked, annoyed by the two men knowing something he did not.

"Oh, you'll see." Sirius said, another sad smile appearing on his face. "You'll see."

The school year ended, and Harry found himself sitting on his four poster bed in the red and gold decorated dormitory. Seamus, Neville and Dean had already left to eat breakfast, but Harry had stayed behind, and of course, with him, was Ron.

"D'you… D'you want to go eat?" his friend asked slowly. Ron, always thinking about food. Harry wasn't hungry at all; he was still desperately trying to figure out what Dumbledore and Sirius had been talking about a few days prior. It annoyed him out of his wits that neither Sirius nor the Headmaster would tell him what was going on, and now Sirius had left and he had no opportunity to talk to him until he reached Platform 9 ¾. Sighing, he got up off his bed.

"Yeah, sure, let's go." Ron looked glad, and lead the way out of the dorm, down the stairs and out through the hole.

"So you're staying with Sirius over the summer then?" he asked as they strolled through the empty hallways of the castle towards the Great Hall.

"Looks like it. I'm confused though, he's up to something with Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore's always up to something, mate." Ron said, making Harry grin reluctantly.

"I s'pose." He replied as they jumped off the last step, entering the Great Hall, which was full of chattering students, all glad the exams were done and they got to go home. Scanning the Gryffindor table, Harry spotted Hermione, her face bent down as she was reading the paper. He nodded towards her, and they made their way over. The girl looked up when her friends approached.

"Oh, there you are." She greeted as they sat down opposite her. "There's an article in here about Sirius." She said, looking at Harry, who snatched the paper from her. On page four, the picture taken of Sirius in Azkaban took up a great deal of space. He felt anger bubble in the pit of his stomach, but ignored it and straightened the paper out.

SERIAL KILLER FREED

Convicted murderer Sirius Black was announced innocent earlier this week, when Death Eater Peter Pettigrew confessed to said murders after being given Veritaserum. Black, who escaped Azkaban two years ago, is said to know be after custody of his godson, famous Harry Potter. Headmaster of Hogwarts School, Albus Dumbledore, is rumoured to have agreed to this deal, and it is to be believed that Mr Potter will be spending his summer with his godfather.

Black may be innocent in the eyes of the Ministry, but how long will it take for the population of England to accept his release? A man who is thought to have cold bloodedly killed more than once is bound-

Harry stopped reading, and scrunched the paper into a ball, then throwing it on the table. Hermione looked sympathetically at him.

"What's happening then?" she asked. "Are you going to go live with him at Grimmauld Place?" Harry shook his head slowly, uncertainly. "No? But I thought you said-"

"Listen, Hermione, I don't know. I am going to live with him, but apparently not in his parents' old house." She frowned.

"But why-"

"I don't know, Hermione!" he snapped. She pulled back a bit, looking indignant. Harry sighed, rubbing his eyes.

"I'm sorry." He said, looking her in the eye.

"That's all right." She said, sipping her tea. Ron was chomping away noisily at his breakfast, making Hermione give him an unappreciative look. Harry ate his toast in silence, not at all feeling the taste of it, rather eating because he knew he'd feel awful if he didn't.

"Well, I want to make sure I haven't forgotten anything." Hermione said eventually, standing up. "I'll see you in the Common room later, and we'll go together to the train." Harry nodded, and Ron grunted something. She snorted at her ginger friend, smiled at Harry and then stalked out of the Hall. It took another fifteen minutes for Ron to finish his breakfast, and Harry sat patiently waiting for him.

"Done?" he asked as Ron wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. Nodding, they both stood up.

"What's the time?" Ron asked as they headed for the staircase. Harry checked his watch.

"Ten past ten."

"And the carriages pick us up at…?" Harry rolled his eyes, but grinned all the same.

"Half past, like they have done for the last five years." Ron grimaced. "Our trunks have already been taken down, but I need to fetch Hedwig's cage. She was out flying all night." Ron merely nodded, as they walked in through the portrait hole. Hermione was sitting on the edge of the couch, staring into the wall, but looked at her watch now and then.

"There you are!" she exclaimed as they walked past, heading for their dorm. "Hurry up already!"

"Calm down." Ron muttered, as Harry charged up the stairs. Hedwig was perched on the top of his bed, but came down at his encouragement.

"In you go." She hopped into the cage, and Harry closed it securely before carrying it with him back down. "There." He said. Hermione was on her feet in a flash, glancing again at her watch.

"It's twenty past now. Hurry, for goodness' sake!" Ron cast a look at Harry as they followed her rapid pace out of their beloved Common room, heading for the train. Only a few more hours, then I'll know, Harry thought. Only a few more hours…