Chapter Text
Sirius : October 31st 1981
The loud, constantly blaring sound of the motorcycle’s engine amplified by the noise of the rushing air went unnoticed by Sirius as he desperately drove across the clouds as fast as he possibly could towards Godric’s Hollow.
Just an hour prior did he find Peter’s flat abandoned, something that precluded a sense of overwhelming dread, even worse followed as Sirius discovered the existence of anti-apparition wards across the property and nearby streets. Unable to apparate to the Potters’ cottage, Sirius ran to his bike and flew as fast as was physically possible, desperate to warn James.
But while in the air, Sirius felt as every second stretched on and on, the distance from every other building, tree, hill, or any other feature on the ground passed by in the longest and excruciating seconds of his life as he never let up on the bike’s petal. And when Godric’s Hollow had finally come into view, all he could feel was a terrible mixture of dread and fear.
Finally, after painfully long minutes in the air, did he reach the town. Wasting no time, Sirius used the deserted street as a runway for his flying motorcycle, the friction of the rubber and gravel making a horrid squeaking noise below in the process. Once grounded, he threw himself off his seat before the bike had fully stilled and ran as fast as he could towards the cottage.
Once there, Sirius immediately recognized the damage dealt to the still smoking cottage, with the second floor being half destroyed with a hole blasted through it, turning his dread into unimaginable panic as he began to run even faster,
‘Fuck, Fuck, Fuck… Please be okay, please….’
Quickly did he barge into the cottage, the door worryingly creaking open only further fuelled the panic and fear. Almost as soon as he was inside did Sirius see quite possibly one of the most soul-crushing sites before him, the limp body of James Potter, the man he considered a brother. His eyes vacant and unmoving, staring at the dark ceiling.
Against every instinct did Sirius manage to move on, had he lingered any longer at the horrid site he knew he would have broken down. And he owed it to James to see to Lily and little Holly and their safety.
But even that hope was soon quelled as he entered the second-floor nursery, all he saw was the shattered walls, a discarded black cloak, Lily’s corpse… and a quiet crib.
Any composure Sirius still had deserted him as he sunk to the debris covered floor and let the unrelenting grief and overwhelming anger overtake his every thought, ‘Why them?’ and ‘I am going to skin that damn rat!’ were the only two phrases that passed through his mind, over and over again as he passed rapidly between hatred and grief.
He did not know how long he sat there, not willing to see the dead form of his goddaughter, no his daughter, as James and Lily had practically demanded that Sirius blood-adopt little Holly on top of taking the godparent oaths, ‘When they demanded that, did they truly feel that they may die?’ It didn’t matter; Holly was gone too… He felt like such a complete and utter failure in every sense of the word.
“Pa..foo…”
The voice was quiet and came from the crib, causing Sirius to look up cautiously, but he didn’t dare to hope it was more than a hallucination come to torment him further. Slowly did he pick himself up, tears still in his eyes as he moved towards the crib, sucking up whatever breath he had before he would see what he felt would most certainly be the most mentally crippling sight yet of this horrible, horrible night...
Looking down however, Sirius saw his goddaughter still managing to slowly breathe by some miracle. Her tear-covered emerald eyes spotting him and blinking absently as a small stream of blood flowed down the left side of her face. Holly was alive, giving a sole feeling of unimaginable relief to Sirius, he had failed James, he had failed Lily. But perhaps he could avoid failing Holly too.
With great care and caution he pulled Holly from her crib and looked at her sadly, “Shh, it’s going to be okay…” If only he believed that himself. Looking over at a still standing shelf that carried Holly’s stuffed animals and toys, Sirius used his wand to pull over the black dog plush he had gotten Holly to calm her.
“Pad..foo…” Holly repeated slowly as she grasped the plush with her small arms, still too young to make a coherent sentence. The name fuelling whatever mixture of grief and hope resided in Sirius.
The question now though, was what now. Sirius had to keep Holly safe no matter what. But he was also now the only person left who would know of Peter’s treachery, who knew what further information he could leak, how many of his comrades were also now at risk with him being the only one to stop it?
Both those facts complicated things immensely.
Sirius began to stare out the hole in the wall towards the dark night sky as he considered his options.
He couldn’t stay here, who knew if this place would soon turn into a battlefield as Death Eaters swarmed to find their master and the Aurors and Order arrived in pursuit. Plus, he would not stay in this cottage with the still forms of James and Lily a single moment longer than he had to.
The obvious choice was to bring her to Alice, Holly’s other godparent and next in line after Sirius. The problem though was that the Longbottoms were also under the Fidelius charm and Sirius had not been given the secret, ruling them out at least temporarily.
Remus was still out of the country on a mission, and Sirius had no idea when he’d be back, so he also wasn’t an option. “Besides…” He muttered to himself as he looked at the full moon shining over Godric’s Hollow.
While he would trust his cousin Andromeda with Holly, she and her family would be in even greater danger than they already were if the Death Eaters suspected them off having Holly. Sirius could not bring that threat on her family.
And as much as Sirius admired Dumbledore, the man was far too focused on the big picture and could just as easily harm Holly as help her. Sirius could trust the headmaster on plenty of things, but his goddaughter’s safety and happiness could not be one of them.
It was then out of other options that an idea came to Sirius’s mind. A probably bad idea, but one that might just work. Number 12 Grimmauld Place, his now vacant childhood home.
His parents were dead, as were his grandparents, Uncle Cygnus and Aunt Druella were out of the country, Bellatrix and Narcissa would be far too busy and had no reason to go there. And no one would possibly suspect that he placed Holly in such a place.
Choosing not to give any further thought, Sirius apparated himself and Holly in front of Number 11 and 13, currently squeezed together. He focused on the number 12 in his mind as he closed his eyes before muttering, “Toujours Pur…” and once his eyes opened, his dreary former home, Number 12 had now appeared before the two of them.
Suppressing his many negative feelings, Sirius walked up to the front door and knocked. Immediately did the door open to reveal the old batty house elf Kreacher, “The bad-master returns. Back even after breaking his poor mother’s heart oh how little shame he-“
“Shut up and listen quietly as I explain!” Sirius grunted as he interrupted the house elf, “This is Holly, you are going to protect and care for her while I am away. She is my blood-adopted daughter and the granddaughter of Dorea Black, so you cannot dispute the Black blood inside her. You are to tell no one about her or meeting me. Should anyone enter the building you are to immediately hide her where she will be both safe and hidden and then call for me. Once I return you are to hand her back to me with no complaints or difficulty. Understood?”
“Hmph, the bad master is understood, Kreacher will care for the half-blood mongrel.” Kreacher voiced with dripping disdain.
“Good, and you will also not insult her in the slightest while in your care, understood?”
“Hmph.”
Realizing that was the best he was going to get, Sirius turned to Holly, who was still focusing on him as she grasped her plush, “I’ll come back as soon as I can Holly, then you’ll be safe, I promise.”
“Pro… mis…” Holly said shortly with her wide green eyes, grasping onto Sirius’s meaning as she held the plush tighter to her body.
Sirius nodded, “…Promise…”
Turning back to Kreacher, Sirius reluctantly handed Holly to the elf who to his surprise proved gentle with the girl, “Remember what I said, and I’ll never have to return here again, and you can go back to wallowing in misery you thing.”
Kreacher gave one last sneer at Sirius before heading back inside the building and shutting the door behind him.
With some reluctance Sirius turned around and prepared to apparate once more, ‘Now then, time to skin a rat.’
As the thought came to him, a feeling in the back of his head questioned whether or not he could keep the promise he had made.
To his future regret the feeling went ignored.
Over the next few days:
The Daily Prophet
You-Know-Who Dead?
James and Lily Potter Found Murdered!
Holly Potter Missing, Presumed Dead!
Peter Pettigrew and a Dozen Muggles Murdered by Sirius Black!
Sirius Black Arrested, to be sent to Azkaban!
Mass Arrests of Death Eaters! Is The War Over?