Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective

owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way

associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

French Twist:

Chapter One: I Disappear

Sirius felt the wards he had helped cast collapse, like a sucker punch driving the air from his lungs and making it hard to breath as the magic bubble burst inside him. It only took him a few moments to get his bearings and figure out just what it was that had happened before his eyes widened and he apparated straight to Godric's Hollow and found...

He fell to his knees in front of the smoking ruins and wept like a little girl for the first time in his life. His severe upbringing by the Black Matriarch drove most of his "lesser" emotions down deep, leaving him to face the world as a braggart and a scamp with no sign of regret or sorrow. Even the betrayal of his little brother Reg hadn't made him cry. But seeing the home of the only people he'd ever considered his real family...crumbling on one side and smoldering from magical overload left him broken inside.

He wiped his eyes and stood up...heading for the ruined front door...he had to check, just because the house was destroyed didn't mean that James and... He turned away from the body and ran back outside to throw up in the bushes which were somehow unharmed. James' body lay at the bottom of the stairs, the wide open stare told Sirius that it was a Death Curse that finally got him, but the ruined living room and the missing wand arm told him it had been one hell of a battle, though apparently quite short. As Sirius walked back into the living room he found the sofa and the coffee table in pieces but still twitching as James the Transfiguration Prodigy had apparently used every trick in the book to keep the intruder from his family. Sirius felt pride swell within him for the man even as he wept at the loss...in the corner was a broken Antler...further proof that Prongs had not gone down quietly.

Sirius leaned over and closed his best friends eyes, unable to think of anything to say at such a moment besides, "I'm Sorry..."

Standing up he quickly deduced that if James' last stand was at the foot of the stairs, that must be where...where... He closed his eyes and swallowed the pain which was a sob trying to burst from his throat. Upstairs was where Lily and Harry were.

He opened his eyes and took the first step with a determined look, only to find Peter backing out of the hallway toward the stairs. "Wormtail!" Sirius cried. "Peter, are Harry and Lily okay?"

The man turned scared eyes on Sirius and lifted a wand...it wasn't his wand it was white and gnarly...The sorrow Sirius had been feeling up to this point turned to suspicion and betrayal. Bubbling hatred began to overtake his senses. "Why do you have Voldemort's wand Peter?"

"P-Padfoot!" Peter tried to recover from his shock, "I..that is...I mean I..."

Sirius took another step, eyes narrowing at the thin man with the ratlike features even in human form, "Peter how did you get here so fast?"

"I-I was already here!" Peter said scurrying backwards from the stairs and bumping against the wall.

Sirius took two more steps, his voice getting dangerously quiet, "I got here within seconds of the Wards dropping Peter...if you were here why aren't you even scratched? I know you're a coward Peter but even a coward would have fought for their life."

"I-I hid..I hid in the closet here...see?" he said indicating the door beside him.

"Why don't I believe you Pete...something is wrong here and I smell a Rat!" Sirius nearly growled out, shouting the last word.

"Avada Kedavra!" Peter screamed and then apparated away. Sirius dove over the banister onto the ruins of the couch to escape the sickly green light which flashed past him and further blackened the wallpaper at the foot of the stairs.

He stood up quickly and began sniffing the air for any clue where Peter had been or where he was going, changing into Padfoot he bounded up the stairs and began searching the floor and wall where the man had been. His eyesight was red with rage and his ears were ringing from the increase in blood pressure. He reverted to human form and turned to the stairs, if he couldn't track him directly he'd just start a search pattern like they taught them in the Auror Academy. As his foot hit the first step down he wouldn't have thought anything could have stopped him from tracking down the Rat and tearing him limb from limb slowly.

Then he heard one word, "Pafu?"

Turning slowly...unwilling to believe his ears, he found the nursery at the end of the hall...door blown off...and there standing in his crib in the moonlight streaming through the gaping hole in the wall was little Harry reaching out for him with one little hand, grasping and closing in the way that he waved hi. Harry wasn't exactly smiling, but he looked really glad to see someone he knew. "Pafu!"

Sirius nearly lost his footing as he took the first step toward the nursery, his legs didn't want to work properly. He couldn't find his voice for fear he'd start bawling again and he knew that Harry worked like most kids, if you didn't make a big deal out of it they could fall and skin their knee and then get up and keep playing. He forced a smile onto his face and took another step.

"Hey-a Pup." He said quietly, finally entering the room and having to swallow the bile in his throat as he found Lil's staring up at him from the floor.

"Pafu owie," Harry said rubbing his head and frowning, he looked on the edge of tears.

Sirius pushed his hand aside softly, "Owies huh? Let Padfoot take a look-see?"

As he moved the hand away he took a sharp breath at the sight of a jagged and red scar running from just above his eyebrow up into his hairline. He wanted to look closer but Harry was sniffling so he put it off for later seeing as how it wasn't bleeding at the moment. He quickly kissed the boys temple putting a smile on his face. "Better now?"

Harry quieted and Sirius gave a bit more attention to his surroundings. The room was half destroyed, half untouched and the center of the apparent explosion seemed to be Harry's crib. Sirius had no clue what could have done this, but he held up one finger to Harry as he crouched down and closed Lily's eyes and then looked out the hole at the lawn.

There on the ground at the side of the house lay a broken body face up, the body was slowly flaking away into the wind but Sirius knew that face. "Voldemort..." The rage started to well up inside him again, Peter had to have betrayed them to Voldemort, it explained the wand in his hands and his untouched appearance, the broken fidelius. He turned again for the door to chase after the Rat but was stopped again by a little voice. "Pafu, Mumum?"

Sirius face scrunched up and even though he was trying not to cry, tears leaked down his cheeks. He took a quick calming breath and wiped his eyes before turning back to the crib and smiling his most charming smile, getting a huge grin in return from little Harry. "Mummy's gone away Pup, but Padfoot's here. You wanna go for a ride?"

Harry's eyes widened at that and he started jumping up and down in his crib with his arms out. Lily hated that motorcycle and forbid James or Sirius from taking Harry for a ride, but that didn't stop them taking him up for a few laps around the neighborhood from time to time. "Ry! Ry! Pafu Ry!" Harry said excitedly.

Sirius still holding his fake smile, grabbed the diaper bag off the floor and began filling it with everything from the drawers and closet. Nappies, clothes, toys, Luckily it was a charmed bag and took everything easily. He stopped when he was halfway through though...if he took everything they'd know Harry was gone...and that wasn't the best course of action at the moment.

Remembering he was a wizard he waved his wand and haphazardly put back most of what he'd just taken...then to add a touch he turned the chest of drawers over on its side, silently apologizing to Lily wherever she was now. Harry was clapping his hands and turned and began throwing things from his crib across the room, Sirius recognizing the stag, wolf and dog grabbed them and added them to his bag before closing it up and grabbing Harry and his blanket from the crib.

"We'll come back some day Harry I promise. But for now lets go have that Ride eh?"

"Ry! Ry!" Harry chuckled and played with Sirius beard.

He pulled the blanket over Harry's head, and Harry began giggling at the new game. Every musical note of his laughter drove searing hot lances through his heart but he ignored it for now and rushed out of the house and around the back to the Garage where they kept his Bonneville. Harry pulled the blanket off his head and grinned as Sirius strapped him into the sidecar and shrank the helmet to toddler size.

"Ry! Ry! Ry!" Harry shouted as Sirius started the engine, and a genuine smile crossed his face for the first time that night.

"You always did love flying eh Pup?" He said with a grin. As they pulled forward into the back yard.

"Ry Pafu Ry!"

Sirius took off into the night with a grinning Harry, unsure where they were headed or how he was going to explain this to Moony or Dumbledore. But he knew one thing deep inside, he couldn't abandon Harry no matter what happened.

A/N: Thanks to those who are reading this, I've had it on my hard drive for quite a while not sure what to do with it, but the parts I already have done at least deserved to be published. I've hit roadblocks on several stories but reviews help a whole lot.

So I'm posting my two new stories, and then relying on review counts to decide which story to focus on. I know this chapter is somewhat short so I hope you'll give the story a chance.