I wrote this well before the actual fifth book came out, so it will be very
different-what with the lack of death-of-my-favorite-character and all. I
may add some things here and there.
You've all heard my excuses. On with it!!!
*~*~*~*~*
He had no weapon; no gun, no wand, nothing. It took Vernon a few seconds of ugly squinting to recognize him. He had, of course, seen his picture on the news.
"Sirius Black!" Vernon squeaked. "Petunia, call the police!" But Petunia stood still in the hall behind Sirius, Dudley's fat little arms wrapped around her waste. Her face was a mixture of fear, surprise, and a strange understanding. She yanked Dudley rather roughly away from the mess of flying wood pieces and downstairs into the sitting room, where they sat tensely, waiting.
"Petunia! Petunia!!!" Vernon called after her, slowly backing into a corner. "Oh no.."
"Damn right, 'oh no'." Sirius croaked. In one fluid motion, he had changed into his dog form, lunged at Vernon, and knocked him to the floor.
As he sat on Vernon's chest, growling and foaming at the mouth, Harry had gathered all the strength he had left to whisper, "Sirius, don't."
Sirius the dog was seconds away from snapping Vernon's fat little neck between his massive jaws, but he leapt off his chest immediately and padded to Harry's side. He transformed back into human, and picked up Harry in his thin arms. For someone who had been on the run from the law and practically starving for two years, he was surprisingly strong. "It's ok, Harry," he whispered, freeing one arm from his burden and brushing Harry's hair from his sweaty and bleeding brow. "I'll get you out of here." Harry smiled weakly up at him, and fainted against Sirius' chest.
Sirius shot a terrifying look at Vernon, who cowered in the corner. Not quite satisfied that he had knocked enough fear into him, he muttered, "After all you did.he wants you to live. If I ever see your great ruddy face again, you'll beg for death before I'm done with you." Vernon grimaced, and began blubbering and pleading for his life. Sirius turned away in disgust, and made his way down the stairs.
When he entered the living room, Petunia stood up and hid Dudley behind her, though he was as wide as three of her. "Where's his things?" Sirius asked quietly in a threatening tone.
"V-Vernon put them in the cupboard under the stairs," Petunia stammered. Sirius walked into the hall, unlocked and opened the cupboard door, and grabbed Harry's already packed trunk, all while still holding Harry in his arms.
Curiosity finally got the better of her, and Petunia crept into the hall. The door was open and swinging in the wind, and Harry and Sirius were gone.
*~*~*~*~*
When Harry finally awoke from his dreamless sleep, he was not in the Dursley house. He was in a shabby motel room, with a wretched color scheme of rust brown and puke green, and the sound of the London streets rumbled outside his window. As the black shadows began to melt away from the edges of his eyes, he saw stranger was sitting on the end of his bed. Even without his glasses, he could see it was a man with messy black hair and deep chocolate eyes. It looked like his father. He scrambled to find his glasses, (which, to his surprise, were in perfect condition).
"Dad?" He whispered, his face trembling with a mixture of pain and hope. Hedwig, who sat in her cage on the small desk, hooted happily at Harry's awakening.
"No, sorry Harry." The man said, looking truly pained. "It's just me, Sirius. I took a lock of James' hair you had in your scrapbook and made a Polyjuice potion. It hasn't worn off yet." He pointed to a small silver flask on the cheap bedside table.
"But." Even though his head was pounding miserably, a thought managed to poke its way in. "A polyjuice potion takes a month to make."
"Uh." James/Sirius blushed. "Well, I kinda sped it up a little. I was never the patient one. It only took two weeks, but it only lasts for half an hours, so I made lots." Slowly, James/Sirius skin began to change, and in a few seconds, he was just Sirius again. "You understand, don't you? It was necessary for me to change my appearance. What if someone were to recognize me?"
"Right.Two weeks?" Harry groaned. "Have I been out that long?"
"In and out," Sirius said as he smoothed an imaginary wrinkled on the sheets. "You had a very high fever when we left..that place..and you had some broken bones, and a severe concussion, and--well, a lot of things. I had to find someone to take adequate care of you--"
Suddenly, the door swung open noisily. Remus Lupin, looking rather windblown, came into the room with an armful of bags. "Ok, Sirius, I got the dreamless sleep potion, and enough groceries to last us a few days.Oh, good, Harry's awake." Remus plunked the bags onto the desk next to Hedwig, and wiped a trickled of sweat off his brow. "Hot out there today."
"Speak of the devil," Sirius smiled as he stood up and began rummaging through the bags. "I don't suppose you happened to pick up any whiskey?"
"With our budget? Dream on, Padfoot."
"Your budget," Harry murmured. "Where did you get the money to buy that stuff?"
Remus and Sirius suddenly went very red in the face. "Um, well, ah.." Sirius stuttered.
"Ah, I'm very sorry Harry," Remus said quietly, looking very sheepish. "I've been unable to find a very well-paying job since my stay at Hogwarts, and you needed medical attention desperately. We had to dip into the savings you had in your trunk." He pointed to trunk on the floor beside the desk. "We're so sorry, and we promise we'll pay you back as soon as we have the chance.."
"Oh, is that it?" Harry chuckled lightly, but stopped when his ribs pinched painfully. "I thought you'd robbed a bank or something. That's not a problem. If you need more, I think I'm well enough to take a trip to Gringotts." Seeing the surprised look on Sirius's face, he added. "You didn't think my parents would leave me with nothing, did you?"
Remus and Sirius laughed heartily, and smiled. "Such a generous boy.you really are your fathers' son." Remus sighed. "I'll take you, if you're up to it. Sirius, save the rest of that polyjuice potion for when you really need it."
"Ok then," Harry yawned. "Just let me sleep.a little longer." And he promptly fell against his pillows in a deep sleep.
Sirius looked wide-eyed at Remus. "He just slept for 30 hours straight!"
*~*~*~*~*
Now that they had landed, James' head cleared, and he decided exactly what they were going to do first.
"Ok, here's the plan," James said brightly as they wheeled their luggage out of the airport. "We'll find a hotel, and then we'll rent a car. We're going to Surrey!"
"Why Surrey?" Lily asked curiously.
"It may be entirely possible that we have relatives there. The Dursley's, if I'm not mistaken. Vernon and Petunia." James grimaced slightly as he thought of the people his son had been 'talking' to in his dream. Petunia's marigolds.
James, despite his anxiety over his rash decision to come to England, had decided not to land in England unprepared. He had done some research on the plane, on his laptop, after he had the dream. Through a random internet search engine, he had come across Vernon Dursley, a man who sold drills in Surrey. On his company's website, it said he had a 'beautiful wife named Petunia, and a son named Dudley.' What were the odds?
James signaled for a cab, and as the family piled into the backseat, he said to the driver "Do you know of any good hotels?"
*~*~*~*~*
Harry breathed deeply as he and Remus strolled through downtown London. 'I'm home,' he thought, right before he coughed raggedly from all the smog he had just inhaled.
"Are you ok, Harry?" Remus asked, looking at his young charge.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Harry beamed back.
Remus smiled as Harry took in everything about the busy sidewalk they were on, although he had seen it many times before. 'He's as curious as a toddler,' Remus said to himself. 'He's so innocent, even after all he's been through. 15 years of that!' Remus frowned in spite of himself when he thought of Vernon Dursley's pudgy face. Though he was a peaceful man by nature (well, most of the time), he would love see Vernon deal with a werewolf bite on his corpulent neck.
"What's wrong Remus?" Harry asked as he spied Remus's scowl. The sound of Harry's voice-once high and innocent, now deep and full of pain-made Remus shake his head. What he wouldn't give for James to be here to enjoy his son's life.
"Nothing, Harry, just concentrating."
*~*~*~*~*
When Remus and Harry emerged from Diagon Alley, both there pockets were bulging with knuts and galleons, as well as some 5-pounds notes. Remus had needed to put a space-increasing charm on his pocket just to fit in the necessary amounts, which he had not needed to do for some time. From both of their arms hung bags of potion ingredients and some wizard treats for Harry.
Harry did not feel sad leaving the cheery wizarding shops, as he knew he would be returning in less than two weeks to buy his school supplies. Although he loved spending time with Remus and Sirius in that dingy little motel room, he longed for the company of his friends. He was also feeling particularly keen to increase his marks in his 6th year after taking the N.E.W.T.S last year. If he wanted to specialize in Defence Against the Dark Arts, he would have to study harder.
As he walked absent-mindedly along the busy muggle Street, he gazed at the people passing on the sidewalk or on the street. After spending the last 5 years in the wizarding world, it never ceased to amaze him how naive muggles were about what went on every day right under there noses.
'Look,' Harry thought to himself. 'There's a young mother walking her child to the toy store. She has no idea that Voldemort would just as soon kill her as help her across the street.' It was when Harry thought about these things that he became the most depressed.
Harry gazed at taxi that was heading towards them on the road. 'That looks like a young family on a vacation,' Harry thought. 'They'll never know the awful way my family died.'
As the taxi passed them, he saw what looked like the father taking rapid- fire to his with, a serious woman with long red hair whose face Harry could not quite see. The man turned his face slightly-the black unruly hair, the deep brown eyes-it couldn't be, it was impossible.
A vioce in Harry's head said 'You're sick boy, imagining your dead parents on the street.' Harry's world spun and his eyes rolled back in his head. Remus caught him roughly before he hit the ground.
*~*~*~*~*
You've all heard my excuses. On with it!!!
*~*~*~*~*
He had no weapon; no gun, no wand, nothing. It took Vernon a few seconds of ugly squinting to recognize him. He had, of course, seen his picture on the news.
"Sirius Black!" Vernon squeaked. "Petunia, call the police!" But Petunia stood still in the hall behind Sirius, Dudley's fat little arms wrapped around her waste. Her face was a mixture of fear, surprise, and a strange understanding. She yanked Dudley rather roughly away from the mess of flying wood pieces and downstairs into the sitting room, where they sat tensely, waiting.
"Petunia! Petunia!!!" Vernon called after her, slowly backing into a corner. "Oh no.."
"Damn right, 'oh no'." Sirius croaked. In one fluid motion, he had changed into his dog form, lunged at Vernon, and knocked him to the floor.
As he sat on Vernon's chest, growling and foaming at the mouth, Harry had gathered all the strength he had left to whisper, "Sirius, don't."
Sirius the dog was seconds away from snapping Vernon's fat little neck between his massive jaws, but he leapt off his chest immediately and padded to Harry's side. He transformed back into human, and picked up Harry in his thin arms. For someone who had been on the run from the law and practically starving for two years, he was surprisingly strong. "It's ok, Harry," he whispered, freeing one arm from his burden and brushing Harry's hair from his sweaty and bleeding brow. "I'll get you out of here." Harry smiled weakly up at him, and fainted against Sirius' chest.
Sirius shot a terrifying look at Vernon, who cowered in the corner. Not quite satisfied that he had knocked enough fear into him, he muttered, "After all you did.he wants you to live. If I ever see your great ruddy face again, you'll beg for death before I'm done with you." Vernon grimaced, and began blubbering and pleading for his life. Sirius turned away in disgust, and made his way down the stairs.
When he entered the living room, Petunia stood up and hid Dudley behind her, though he was as wide as three of her. "Where's his things?" Sirius asked quietly in a threatening tone.
"V-Vernon put them in the cupboard under the stairs," Petunia stammered. Sirius walked into the hall, unlocked and opened the cupboard door, and grabbed Harry's already packed trunk, all while still holding Harry in his arms.
Curiosity finally got the better of her, and Petunia crept into the hall. The door was open and swinging in the wind, and Harry and Sirius were gone.
*~*~*~*~*
When Harry finally awoke from his dreamless sleep, he was not in the Dursley house. He was in a shabby motel room, with a wretched color scheme of rust brown and puke green, and the sound of the London streets rumbled outside his window. As the black shadows began to melt away from the edges of his eyes, he saw stranger was sitting on the end of his bed. Even without his glasses, he could see it was a man with messy black hair and deep chocolate eyes. It looked like his father. He scrambled to find his glasses, (which, to his surprise, were in perfect condition).
"Dad?" He whispered, his face trembling with a mixture of pain and hope. Hedwig, who sat in her cage on the small desk, hooted happily at Harry's awakening.
"No, sorry Harry." The man said, looking truly pained. "It's just me, Sirius. I took a lock of James' hair you had in your scrapbook and made a Polyjuice potion. It hasn't worn off yet." He pointed to a small silver flask on the cheap bedside table.
"But." Even though his head was pounding miserably, a thought managed to poke its way in. "A polyjuice potion takes a month to make."
"Uh." James/Sirius blushed. "Well, I kinda sped it up a little. I was never the patient one. It only took two weeks, but it only lasts for half an hours, so I made lots." Slowly, James/Sirius skin began to change, and in a few seconds, he was just Sirius again. "You understand, don't you? It was necessary for me to change my appearance. What if someone were to recognize me?"
"Right.Two weeks?" Harry groaned. "Have I been out that long?"
"In and out," Sirius said as he smoothed an imaginary wrinkled on the sheets. "You had a very high fever when we left..that place..and you had some broken bones, and a severe concussion, and--well, a lot of things. I had to find someone to take adequate care of you--"
Suddenly, the door swung open noisily. Remus Lupin, looking rather windblown, came into the room with an armful of bags. "Ok, Sirius, I got the dreamless sleep potion, and enough groceries to last us a few days.Oh, good, Harry's awake." Remus plunked the bags onto the desk next to Hedwig, and wiped a trickled of sweat off his brow. "Hot out there today."
"Speak of the devil," Sirius smiled as he stood up and began rummaging through the bags. "I don't suppose you happened to pick up any whiskey?"
"With our budget? Dream on, Padfoot."
"Your budget," Harry murmured. "Where did you get the money to buy that stuff?"
Remus and Sirius suddenly went very red in the face. "Um, well, ah.." Sirius stuttered.
"Ah, I'm very sorry Harry," Remus said quietly, looking very sheepish. "I've been unable to find a very well-paying job since my stay at Hogwarts, and you needed medical attention desperately. We had to dip into the savings you had in your trunk." He pointed to trunk on the floor beside the desk. "We're so sorry, and we promise we'll pay you back as soon as we have the chance.."
"Oh, is that it?" Harry chuckled lightly, but stopped when his ribs pinched painfully. "I thought you'd robbed a bank or something. That's not a problem. If you need more, I think I'm well enough to take a trip to Gringotts." Seeing the surprised look on Sirius's face, he added. "You didn't think my parents would leave me with nothing, did you?"
Remus and Sirius laughed heartily, and smiled. "Such a generous boy.you really are your fathers' son." Remus sighed. "I'll take you, if you're up to it. Sirius, save the rest of that polyjuice potion for when you really need it."
"Ok then," Harry yawned. "Just let me sleep.a little longer." And he promptly fell against his pillows in a deep sleep.
Sirius looked wide-eyed at Remus. "He just slept for 30 hours straight!"
*~*~*~*~*
Now that they had landed, James' head cleared, and he decided exactly what they were going to do first.
"Ok, here's the plan," James said brightly as they wheeled their luggage out of the airport. "We'll find a hotel, and then we'll rent a car. We're going to Surrey!"
"Why Surrey?" Lily asked curiously.
"It may be entirely possible that we have relatives there. The Dursley's, if I'm not mistaken. Vernon and Petunia." James grimaced slightly as he thought of the people his son had been 'talking' to in his dream. Petunia's marigolds.
James, despite his anxiety over his rash decision to come to England, had decided not to land in England unprepared. He had done some research on the plane, on his laptop, after he had the dream. Through a random internet search engine, he had come across Vernon Dursley, a man who sold drills in Surrey. On his company's website, it said he had a 'beautiful wife named Petunia, and a son named Dudley.' What were the odds?
James signaled for a cab, and as the family piled into the backseat, he said to the driver "Do you know of any good hotels?"
*~*~*~*~*
Harry breathed deeply as he and Remus strolled through downtown London. 'I'm home,' he thought, right before he coughed raggedly from all the smog he had just inhaled.
"Are you ok, Harry?" Remus asked, looking at his young charge.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Harry beamed back.
Remus smiled as Harry took in everything about the busy sidewalk they were on, although he had seen it many times before. 'He's as curious as a toddler,' Remus said to himself. 'He's so innocent, even after all he's been through. 15 years of that!' Remus frowned in spite of himself when he thought of Vernon Dursley's pudgy face. Though he was a peaceful man by nature (well, most of the time), he would love see Vernon deal with a werewolf bite on his corpulent neck.
"What's wrong Remus?" Harry asked as he spied Remus's scowl. The sound of Harry's voice-once high and innocent, now deep and full of pain-made Remus shake his head. What he wouldn't give for James to be here to enjoy his son's life.
"Nothing, Harry, just concentrating."
*~*~*~*~*
When Remus and Harry emerged from Diagon Alley, both there pockets were bulging with knuts and galleons, as well as some 5-pounds notes. Remus had needed to put a space-increasing charm on his pocket just to fit in the necessary amounts, which he had not needed to do for some time. From both of their arms hung bags of potion ingredients and some wizard treats for Harry.
Harry did not feel sad leaving the cheery wizarding shops, as he knew he would be returning in less than two weeks to buy his school supplies. Although he loved spending time with Remus and Sirius in that dingy little motel room, he longed for the company of his friends. He was also feeling particularly keen to increase his marks in his 6th year after taking the N.E.W.T.S last year. If he wanted to specialize in Defence Against the Dark Arts, he would have to study harder.
As he walked absent-mindedly along the busy muggle Street, he gazed at the people passing on the sidewalk or on the street. After spending the last 5 years in the wizarding world, it never ceased to amaze him how naive muggles were about what went on every day right under there noses.
'Look,' Harry thought to himself. 'There's a young mother walking her child to the toy store. She has no idea that Voldemort would just as soon kill her as help her across the street.' It was when Harry thought about these things that he became the most depressed.
Harry gazed at taxi that was heading towards them on the road. 'That looks like a young family on a vacation,' Harry thought. 'They'll never know the awful way my family died.'
As the taxi passed them, he saw what looked like the father taking rapid- fire to his with, a serious woman with long red hair whose face Harry could not quite see. The man turned his face slightly-the black unruly hair, the deep brown eyes-it couldn't be, it was impossible.
A vioce in Harry's head said 'You're sick boy, imagining your dead parents on the street.' Harry's world spun and his eyes rolled back in his head. Remus caught him roughly before he hit the ground.
*~*~*~*~*