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The Unwelcome Friend by FloreatCastellum

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Dedalus Diggle’s house was one of the many homes which, on occasion, played host to the Order of the Phoenix. Well hidden among the gently rolling hills of the Kent countryside, and built with apparently no planning or consideration for architecture, it was a sprawling mess of twisted corridors connecting odd little outhouses, spindling towers and dome-like constructions that held no similarity or theme. Minerva McGonagall had been heard to remark on several occasions that Dedalus, whom she considered eccentric and thoughtless, had likely continued to build his house over the years whenever a fleeting desire arose. Sirius often thought that it looked like a child’s drawing of a dream mansion — the walls bowing outwards like bubbles and the windows a variety of portholes, French lattice and geometric shapes.

The house was bustling when Sirius arrived, but Moony and Wormtail were sitting casually on the twisted stairs opposite the front door, so he did not venture further into the labyrinth.

‘You’re early,’ said Moony. ‘The meeting doesn’t start for another half an hour yet.’

‘We’re used to you being fashionably late,’ said Wormtail.

Sirius gave a lopsided grin and shrugged. ‘I don’t want to get too predictable, do I? Busy night tonight,’ he added, as Emmeline Vance swept past.

‘Yeah, well, didn’t you hear what happened to Dorcas? People keep dropping in to see Dumbledore about it.’ Moony jerked his head towards a door which Sirius knew led to a long corridor. ‘He’s holed up at the back of the house trying to find out who did it and how they found her. Apparently he’s going to be staying here all night rather than going back to Hogwarts.’

Sirius nodded grimly. ‘It’s messed up. Hestia mentioned it might have been You-Know-Who himself.’

‘Where did she hear that?’ asked Wormtail quickly.

But Sirius did not have time to answer, as the door opened once again with a clatter, and a furious looking young man stormed in, heading straight for them.

‘James?’ said Moony, his eyes widening in shock. ‘I thought you weren’t allowed—’

‘What are you doing here?’ asked Wormtail, his voice rising in panic.

‘You made it!’ yelped Sirius, moving towards him. But James didn’t stop.
Pushing roughly past Sirius, and clambering over Moony and Wormtail (who were still sitting on the stairs), he marched up the stairs to the landing, wrenched a door open, and went through, shouting for Dumbledore. Lily entered the room just a few seconds later, looking distressed and clutching a befuddled-looking baby on her hip.

‘James!’ she shouted. ‘James! Oh, bloody hell, here, take him for me, for just a sec—’

She thrust the baby unexpectedly into Sirius’s arms and hurried after her husband, whose indecipherable shouts could still be distantly heard. Feeling slightly stung, Sirius fumbled with the now whimpering baby and began to half-heartedly bounce him slightly.

‘What’s that all about?’ he asked.

Moony shrugged, bewilderment and shock evident in his somewhat slack mouth. Wormtail looked positively distraught.

‘What’s he doing here? He’s not supposed to leave the house! He’s banned from Order meetings—’

‘Give the guy a break,’ snapped Sirius defensively. ‘He clearly needs to talk to Dumbledore about something.’ The baby began to wail, squirming and kicking in Sirius’ arms. ‘Hey…’ he muttered weakly, in his best attempt at a soothing voice. He bounced him slightly, but tears continued to roll down Harry’s wobbling cheeks. ‘Hey…’

Harry did not approve, and continued to wail with increasing volume. Sirius looked helplessly at his friends, and in desperation, Moony dug out some keys from his pocket and dangled them in front of Harry’s face. The baby’s cries turned to grizzles and gulps, his tiny hand reaching out in a clumsy effort to grab the keys.

‘You should be godfather,’ grumbled Sirius. ‘You always know how to get him to cheer up.’

Moony threw him a grin, jerking the keys just out of Harry’s face. ‘You’re better at cheering Prongs up though. Give him here, I’ll look after Harry. You go sort James out.’

Sirius followed the sound of the shouting, up the stairs and down a twisting corridor lined with bizarre artwork and garish vases. Ahead, the door to the final room had been left open, and he could see James, his back to the doorway, leaning forward onto a desk, still shouting. ‘…Just taking the piss now!’

He could hear Dumbledore’s voice humming patiently, but was still too far away to decipher the words. Prongs gave an exasperated bark of laughter and pushed back off the desk, launching into a stumbling pacing, swinging his arms up and running his hands through his hair frantically.

‘Try to calm down,’ Lily was pleading. ‘Let’s go home—’

‘We’ve practiced, Dumbledore, we’ve practiced—if… If anyone breaks in, I’ll hold them off, Lily runs for the cloak and Harry. We need it back, you’ve had it months, there’s no excuse anymore!’

They had not noticed Sirius approach. He now stood in the doorway, observing Dumbledore’s grave, lined face, watching James over steepled fingers. ‘My research is not yet complete—’

‘Bollocks to your research! It belongs to me!’

Sirius awkwardly knocked on the door frame. Lily jumped slightly, and James spun to face him. He looked tired. Distraught.

‘Er… Sorry,’ said Sirius. ‘Just checking everything’s all…’

‘We need to go home,’ repeated Lily firmly. ‘Come on, James.’

James’ shoulders sank. ‘Please just give it back,’ he said to Dumbledore helplessly. ‘I don’t feel safe without it.’

‘I will give it back in time, James,’ said Dumbledore. ‘Though I am wary that this is not the first time you’ve left the house. I have warned you about your excursions, and I am concerned that returning the cloak would only encourage you.’

Prongs clenched his jaw and closed his eyes, struggling to show restraint. ‘I don’t like being locked up,’ he said slowly. ‘But I will stay in the house to protect my family. I just want my cloak back.’

Dumbledore held up his hands, as though surrendering. ‘I don’t have it with me at the moment. But I will return it to you as soon as possible.’
Prongs looked highly unsatisfied, but Lily was becoming increasingly agitated, so Sirius clapped him on the shoulder. ‘Come on, mate, you need to get back home. I’ll drop by tomorrow, if you want?’

‘That would be lovely,’ said Lily warmly. She turned to Dumbledore. ‘Sorry, Professor. We’ll get home. Hope the meeting goes well. Give everyone our love.’

Prongs nodded dully and followed them out of the door, closing it rather forcefully behind him. ‘Sorry,’ he muttered, dragging his feet miserably.

‘Are you sure you guys can’t stay for the meeting?’ asked Sirius. ‘Now that you’re here?’

‘No, sorry,’ said Lily. ‘We’ve got to… Where’s Harry?’ She had noticed that Sirius was no longer holding Harry, and her voice rose in panic.
‘I left him with Moon—’

James pushed past him once again, running down the corridor. ‘Harry? HARRY!’

Instinctively, Sirius followed him just as quickly, his bag banging painfully against him as he ran, but when they reached the staircase, he saw James slow to a jog and sigh with relief. ‘Oh, you’ve got him. What’re you doing?’

There, halfway over the threshold of the front door, stood Wormtail, crouching slightly as he held Harry’s hand. Harry was stood, wobbling happily, at knee height and tugging impatiently to go outside. ‘We were going to go and have a look in the garden,’ said Wormtail.

‘What?’ said Prongs, sounding confused and out of breath. ‘Oh, Wormtail, you muppet, we can’t do that. Give him here.’

‘Sorry,’ said Wormtail nervously as Prongs scooped Harry up. ‘Sorry… I didn’t think.’ James kissed Harry on the top of the head.

‘It’s all right, don’t worry,’ said Lily kindly. ‘The other day I nearly took him to the shops. It’s so easy to just act automatically and not think about these things. I’m just glad you’re with him, we thought something awful had happened… Where’s Moony?’

‘Er… I think he went to the bathroom,’ said Wormtail, who seemed flustered and embarrassed at his mistake.

Prongs seemed to have relaxed now that he was reunited with his son, and was now pulling faces to make Harry laugh. Wormtail smiled at them awkwardly, a blush still prominent in his face.

‘Sorry, Wormtail, I’m a bit on edge.’ He glanced over his shoulder.
‘Thanks for… Thanks for dropping by yesterday and agreeing to… You know. Thanks.’

‘I told you, it’s no problem,’ said Wormtail. ‘How’s the little guy doing anyway? Learnt any new words, Harry?’

‘Thanks for stepping into the office,’ Lily whispered to Sirius, as James and Peter fussed over Harry. ‘I think having someone else there made him take a step back.’

‘Is he all right?’

‘Oh, we’re all just tired and stressed, you know. He lost his temper because the cat got out and I said he couldn’t go looking for him. We’ll be fine. Will you really drop by tomorrow?’ She looked so earnest and hopeful, her large doe-eyes looking up at him, that he couldn’t help but grin.

‘Of course I will. What kind of question is that?’

‘Good. It will be nice to have some company. Even Batty can’t come round anymore.’ There was a strong bitterness in her voice, and she looked enviously towards the staircase, where upstairs someone was laughing loudly. People were starting to walk through, heading upstairs for the meeting, odd hellos and smiles thrown as they went.

‘Why not? There hasn’t been more information passed, has there?’

‘Well, Dumbledore reckons—’ She stopped abruptly, before quickly turning her serious expression into a practiced smile. ‘Moony! Glad we could catch you before we go.’

‘Are you heading off?’ he asked, surprised. ‘Bit of a flying visit.’

‘We only needed a quick chat with Dumbledore,’ said Lily. ‘We’d best go, James.’

He nodded curtly, and handed her Harry. ‘He hates Apparating with me.
See you later, guys.’

Lily gave a dramatic groan as she took her son. ‘Ooh, you’re getting heavy. Come on, dinner, bath and bed for you when we get home… You poor thing, you’ve been passed around like a parcel, haven’t you? Say bye-bye to everyone.’

‘You’re not going already?’ blurted out Wormtail. ‘Can’t you… Can’t you stay for the meeting?’

‘You know we can’t,’ replied Prongs, amused. ‘We shouldn’t be here in the first place.’

Lily walked past him and stepped into the night air, clearly keen to get going. Prongs began to follow, but Wormtail grabbed him by the arm.

‘Why don’t we go have one of our excursions? The four of us? Lily and Harry can be safe at home, we can head down the pub-’

Prongs gave a bitter laugh. ‘Sorry, mate...’

‘It might be fun,’ said Moony hopefully. ‘We could go to a Muggle one. Doubt there’d be any trouble.’

Prongs looked tempted, but gently tugged out of Wormtail’s grip. An odd look of desperation crossed Wormtail’s face, and Sirius realized that, like him, Wormtail had been sorely missing the company of their old friend. ‘You bought me a drink last time,’ he said urgently. ‘I need to—’

But James chuckled and shook his head, following his wife out of the house. ‘We’ll just say you owe me, Wormtail!’ he called over his shoulder. He linked arms with his wife, and the family vanished in the cold air.

Wormtail sighed heavily. ‘Shame,’ said Moony. ‘I’d have liked us to all have a last night at the pub.’

‘What do you mean, –last”?’ asked Sirius sharply.

‘Nothing,’ said Moony, looking startled. ‘Sorry, I only meant… You know, because they’re basically under house arrest…’

‘Yeah, they are,’ said Sirius pointedly. ‘Shut the door, Wormtail, I’m freezing my bollocks off.’

Wormtail was still looking out into the garden, and gave a small start before hurriedly closing the door. ‘Right, yeah,’ he said croakily. ‘The meeting will have started… Er, where is it, again?’

‘Upstairs in that big hall room,’ said Moony, looking grumpy. ‘Come on…’

They received some gentle jeering and exaggerated tuts as they shuffled into the meeting late, edging their way awkwardly around the crowded room to find a seat.

‘Like to keep us waiting, do you, boys?’ asked Moody.

‘Just you, Mad-Eye,’ replied Sirius cheerfully. He found a seat and kicked his bag roughly under the table.

Emmeline Vance gave Sirius a subtle wink as he sat next to her; he smiled softly back at her, though he was still thinking about how exhausted and unhappy James had looked. He’d bring him something tomorrow to cheer him up. Some chocolate frogs, or a copy of Quidditch Questions, or some firewhiskey…

‘We’re expecting a big night tonight,’ Moody was saying. ‘Death Eaters always like to go Muggle-baiting on Halloween, they fit in better with all the stupid costumes, Muggles go right up to them like dodos…’

‘Now, Alastor, they don’t know any better,’ squeaked Dedalus. ‘No need to call them dodos…’

‘The point still remains!’ said Moody. He looked at Dumbledore. ‘I’m still going to be in Hackney, then?’

‘Yes, please,’ said Dumbledore, looking over his spectacles at a long scroll of parchment. ‘I’ve been informed that there have been some unfriendly faces in that area lately. Minerva, do you have any news from…’

Sirius zoned out slightly, trying not to drum his fingers on the table. Aimlessly looking for a distraction, he heard Moony and Wormtail whispering, and leaned in to join in.

‘But where were you earlier? I was knocking for ages, we were meant to come to the meeting together.’

‘I told you, I was in the bath, I didn’t hear…’

‘No, I know you’re avoiding me, Peter, all of you are…’

‘What’s going on?’ asked Sirius. ‘Moony, we’re not avoiding you…’ It was a lie; they all knew it.

Elphias Doge coughed irritably, glaring at them with distaste, and they hastily returned their attention to Dumbledore. Wormtail’s leg was bouncing nervously, something Sirius found quite irritating.

‘What’s got into you today?’ he hissed. ‘Are you regretting agreeing to… you know? It hasn’t been a day, if you’ve changed your mind—’

‘I haven’t changed my mind,’ said Wormtail hurriedly, glancing at his watch. ‘It’s too late now, anyway.’

‘What? No it’s not, it wouldn’t be hard for us to just return the secret to me—’

‘Ssh!’ said Elphias crossly.

Sirius scowled at him, but fell silent once again. Under Elphias’ suspicious supervision, he didn’t dare speak to his friends again. At the end of the meeting, they all filtered out solemnly, those that had been delegated a task grimly setting their faces in wary determination.

‘Happy Halloween, lads,’ said Sturgis Podmore as they left.

‘Happy ‘alloween,’ yawned Sirius, running a hand through his hair.
‘We could all go for that drink anyway,’ said Moony hopefully as they crossed the front lawn. ‘I’m sure Prongs wouldn’t mind.’

‘Oh, I can’t, sorry,’ said Wormtail vaguely.

‘What are you talking about?’ asked Sirius. ‘You’re the one who suggested it.’

‘Yeah, I forgot I’m, erm… I’m meeting someone.’

‘Who?’ asked Sirius, astounded. ‘Not a girl, surely?’

Moony laughed. ‘It is! It has to be! Is that why you didn’t answer the door when I called earlier? Were you round hers?’ he gave a dramatic gasp. ‘Was she in the house?’

‘No! I mean, well — no!’ spluttered Wormtail.

‘Who is it?’ asked Sirius eagerly. ‘Never thought you’d be the next of us to get hitched up, Wormy.’

Wormtail flushed a deep pink that was visible even in the drawing darkness. ‘I have to go,’ he said firmly. ‘Bye.’

Without waiting for their response, he took a few steps forward, turned, and vanished. ‘Huh,’ said Sirius. ‘Think we went a bit too far?’

‘Nah,’ said Moony. ‘He’ll be fine, he can take it. I’m still up for a swift pint if you are?’

Why, so you can get more information about James and Lily?

‘Sorry, mate, I really am shattered. Soon though, yeah?’

Moony’s face fell and he gave a small nod. ‘Yeah… Yeah, see you.’

Sirius Disapparated home, heading straight for the old, squashy sofa. He yawned, loudly and widely, kicking off his shoes. He supposed he should get to bed. It wasn’t particularly late, but he hadn’t exactly been lying when he said he was exhausted… He’d read a chapter of that book Lily had lent him first though. Maybe he’d finish it by tomorrow…

‘Fuck,’ he muttered. He’d never picked his bag up from under the table in the meeting room. He lay still for a few minutes, feeling quite comfortable and sorry for himself. With a heavy groan, he dragged himself back off the sofa, stumbling around sleepily for his shoes. It was now quite dark outside, blustery too. In the windows of the homes belonging to his Muggle neighbours, carved pumpkins glowed menacingly. He half-heartedly wondered if he should just leave it til tomorrow, but his wallet was in there too, and he wanted to buy all that stuff for James tomorrow morning…

He couldn’t face Apparating again; he’d never enjoyed it. The stressful evening had him itching for adventure, so he grabbed his helmet and got his motorbike out of the shed — his pride and joy. The night air was particularly cool, and the strong winds gave him an exciting challenge when it came to steering. But there was no freedom like it. He arrived at Diggle’s house quickly, which in its childishness looked almost sinister in the dark. The windows were dark, and there was a stillness in the air which suggested that everyone had gone home, though the door was still on the latch. He pushed it open awkwardly. Was this trespassing?
‘Diggle?’ he shouted. ‘Ded? I forgot my bag… Hello?’

He shrugged to himself, closed the door, and bounded up the stairs noisily, hoping that by drawing attention to himself he’d avoid being mistaken for an intruder. It didn’t take him long to find his bag, but as he was crouched down by the table to pick it up, he heard a desperate, furious knocking.

As he approached the door, he could hear a hysterical, shrieking plea. ‘Dumbledore! Albus! Albus! Please say you’re still there! Oh, please! Albus!’

He opened it to see a distraught old woman, her whole body shaking in fear, still in a hairnet and slippers. ‘Bathilda?’

‘Oh, Sirius, is Dumbledore still here?’

‘I-I’m not sure, he might be. What’s happened?’

‘Screaming,’ she gasped. Her words came choking through sobs. ‘Screaming-&mdaash;the Potters… There was nothing I could do, but it might not be too late. Oh, where’s Albus?’

He was not aware of moving aside to let her past, and looking back he was never able to say exactly what he did in that moment. All he knew was that he found himself sitting on the floor, clutching the door frame, a ringing in his ears. Had he fallen asleep on the sofa after all?

He rose like a zombie, his head still filled with that awful ringing. He didn’t even think to Apparate; he and James always used the motorbike when they could help it. Silly, really, when he looked back, years later. If he had Apparated, maybe he would have got there in time. Maybe he would have been there as it happened, rather than over forty minutes later… It rumbled through the skies, tearing through the clouds like a cannonball, and with every town that passed underneath him, Sirius’s heart grew heavier with dread.

The house was smoldering. The corner where he knew Harry’s room to be had been blasted open — rubble scattered the front garden and pockets of fire crackled lazily, bizarre glimpses of colour and mundane household objects peeking through the dust. Sirius was faintly aware of his lips moving, but he felt as though he were having an out-of-body experience, and wasn’t sure if the world around him was silent, or whether he was simply not hearing.

As he had done so many times before, he pushed open the garden gate and walked to the front door. It was wide open, and there, slumped face-down on the floor, was James.

‘No… No…’ His voice sounded very far away. He knelt down beside James, trembling hands reaching forward, one resting on his back, the other in his thick, messy hair. He shook him slightly. ‘Get up…’

A thousand memories were flickering through his mind like a dying candle. Of long detentions and nights in the forest, of passing crude notes in History of Magic, of train journeys and motorbike riding and Quidditch debates, James face was constant, expressive, alive.

The impact of his fall had twisted his glasses. Sirius pulled them from under his face, gave them a brief tap with his wand and repaired them. Without thinking, he put them in his pocket. A faint noise from outside drew his attention, and he stumbled outside, a tightness in his chest.

As he paid more attention, his head was suddenly filled with terrible sounds — a deep, heavy sobbing, a high, screaming wail, bricks crashing. A huge, dark figure was rifling through the rubble, throwing bricks over his shoulder.

‘Hagrid?’ said Sirius. How had he missed him when he arrived?

Hagrid gave a loud sniff, then shouted hoarsely. ‘Come an’ help me. I need magic…’

With horror, Sirius realized the screaming was coming from underneath a large part of the collapsed house. Hagrid was trying to clear through it, but was cautious about causing further collapse. Sirius, still holding his wand, began to vanish, levitate and shrink the bricks and a broken beam and a tangle of heavy black robes, finally allowing Hagrid to pull away the back of an armchair to reveal Harry.

The baby sat, a thick trickle of blood covering half his face, soaking into his blue pyjamas. He had been tremendously lucky — during the explosion, the back of the armchair had apparently fallen against the remainder of his cot, providing a protective gap which had surely prevented him from being crushed in the rubble.

‘He’s alive,’ said Sirius, stunned. ‘He’s… Harry!’

Hagrid picked him up, great fat tears rolling down his cheeks. Harry looked even smaller in his giant hands. ‘Dumbledore said he migh’ be,’ Hagrid sniffed. ‘Dunno how…’ he looked at Sirius, who was staring around the collapsed house with anguish.

‘I need to… I need to find… If Harry’s alive, then maybe…’ He continued digging through the rubble, using his wand and his bare hands, desperate, urgent, pleading with God to let there be a flash of red hair or green eyes, and let her be alive, please…

But she wasn’t. He found her, crushed under rubble, her eyes open and vacant. There were still tear tracks on her face, her mascara had run slightly, and her lips were parted as though she were about to speak. The heavy hand placed on his shoulder made him realize that he was sobbing, crouched over her.

‘They’re in a better place,’ said Hagrid gruffly. ‘An’ they protected their son, tha’s all they wanted.’

Sirius took deep, shuddering breaths. ‘Harry’s alive,’ he reminded himself slowly.

‘Tha’s right,’ said Hagrid. ‘Summit odd happened here tonigh’. Dumbledore said it migh’ all be over. An’ Harry’s alive! Isn’t tha’ just a mighty thing?’

‘Give him to me, Hagrid,’ said Sirius hoarsely. ‘I’m his godfather… I’ll look after him.’ He’d raise Harry just the way James would want him to, he’d make sure he was happy, and safe, and that he’d never remember this terrible night, but would grow up hearing stories of their grand adventures…

‘Ah, I’m sorry, Sirius,’ said Hagrid. ‘I’m on strict orders from Dumbledore. He’s to go to his aunt’s in Surrey. Yeh know I’d hand him over if I could.’

‘But I’m his godfather,’ said Sirius fiercely. ‘I’m his… I was their…’

Wormtail. The fucking evil bastard.

Not even one day. It hadn’t been a single day since they joined hands and entrusted him with that secret. He remembered The Rat’s cheerful goodbye, so confident and pleased that he had been trusted, his promise to let Dumbledore know ‘right away’ that the Secret Keeper had been changed…

The realization stabbed at Sirius’s heart. He looked into Harry’s face, still crying and covered in blood. He used the sleeve of his robe to wipe some of it away, then gave him a trembling kiss on the top of his head, just as James always did.

‘You take my bike, Hagrid. Take my bike to get him there.’

‘Eh? Dumbledore’s given me a portkey teh use&mdsh;’

‘Harry hates them,’ Sirius said honestly. ‘He’s terrified as it is and he… He likes the motorbike.’ He gulped. He remembered those months, when Harry never slept through the night, James Floo’ing him desperately asking to borrow the motorbike, it was the only thing that got him to sleep, flying through the stars to the steady rumble of the engine. ‘Besides, I won’t need it anymore.’ He didn’t think he’d ever be able to look at it again, not without thinking of James…

Hagrid nodded. ‘That’s so nice of yeh, Sirius. I know how much yeh love—’

‘I’m going to go now,’ said Sirius suddenly. ‘I need to… Get him there safe, won’t you?’

Hagrid gave him an understanding, watery smile. ‘O’ course.’

Sirius gave one last look to the front door, where he could still glimpse the top of James’ head, so much like his son’s. He was still staring at it when he gave the motorbike key to Hagrid, before he turned away.

Others were arriving now; standing gathered at the gate, a mixture of confused Muggles talking about a ‘gas leak’ and Ministry officials.

‘Call a healer!’ one of them was yelling, staring at Harry with wide eyes.
‘Get some healers!’

Hand firmly gripping James’ glasses in his pocket, Sirius turned on the spot and vanished.