A/N: I was watching a video on youtube about the marauders, and it was playing the song Hallelujah (you know, the one from Shrek?) and that song moved me so much, I decided to make a story to go along with it. I highly suggest watching the video; just search "hallelujah the marauders" and click the first one. And playing the song while you read this will help too…just try not to cry like I did…
Disclaimer: Never have owned it, never will own it. Oh but there's a line I sorta kinda borrowed from HBP. Any avid HP fan will know which line it is. But I still own nothing so don't sue!
I heard there was a secret chord,
That David played and it pleased the Lord,
But you don't really care for music do you?
A harsh fall wind whistled through the trees in Godric's Hollow, making the dried out crimson and orange leaves rustle and fall thick and fast to the ground. The sky was murky and cloudy, and a thunderstorm looked promising for later on. A few stragglers coming home from the grocery store or from work littered the sidewalks, their heads bent against the persistent and seemingly never ending wind. Despite the dismal weather outside, in number Twenty-Seven Godric's Hollow, a small family of three along with a friend was happily conversing and enjoying themselves in a peaceful manner.
"ARGH! JAMES! YOUR SON IS RIPPING MY HAIR OUT!" Well, almost peaceful.
Sirius Black, marauder extraordinaire never thought he'd be near to defeated by someone twenty years younger than him. And yet, there he lay, on the Potter's couch with a small black-haired baby boy sitting on his head and pulling his hair like there was no tomorrow, blissfully unaware that he was causing the man a fair amount of pain. Said baby boy's father was laughing his arse off at the doorway to the living room as he watched his one year old son overtake his full-grown best friend. It was quite a sight to see.
As the boy, whose name was Harry, tugged particularly hard on a lock of Sirius' hair, giggling madly, Sirius winced and shot a glare towards his so-called "best friend".
"James! Take your crazy son off of me or I will make SURE that you will not be able to give Harry any siblings!" he said in a threatening voice.
James Potter snorted and went over to carefully remove his son from Sirius' tresses.
"Honestly Sirius, you can be such a wimp sometimes. Just be glad that Harry's powers haven't kicked in yet." James said, bouncing Harry on his arms to his son's delight.
Sirius shuddered as he pushed himself off the couch. "If that's what he does to me now I don't even want to know what he'll do to me once magic bursts out of him." He mumbled.
A feminine laugh issued from the direction of the kitchen. "Oh, you know Harry loves you Sirius! He doesn't know what he's doing is all." said the voice of Lily Potter, who was James' wife and mother to the boy who was causing Sirius so much misery.
"Easy for you to say, you're his mother! He wouldn't dream of pulling your hair!" Sirius said as he, James, and Harry all entered the kitchen, and sat down at the table, to see Lily at the stove cooking a delightful potato stew. As she heard Sirius' words, she snorted.
"You're joking right? He has an insane fascination with my hair," here she tugged a bit at her long dark-red hair, "and pulls on it all the time! I think James is the only safe one here."
James shook his head. "Not true, I've got these," he jiggled his glasses up and down, "and he's just as fascinated with them as he is with your hair. He seems to be intent on grabbing them whenever they're in reach." As if to prove his point, Harry reached up and grabbed his father's glasses off of his face. He looked thoroughly pleased with himself.
"See?" James said.
Lily laughed and Sirius smiled fondly at Harry, all annoyance with him forgotten.
"I think we have a little Marauder on our hands!" he said, ruffling Harry's hair making him smile widely.
"Oh no, my son is going to be studious and will listen to rules. He won't be wreaking havoc and giving poor McGonagall a heart failure like you two did."
"You wish." said James and Sirius in unison before bursting with laughter. Lily rolled her eyes good-naturedly as she ladled stew into the bowls in front of them.
"Speaking of Marauders," James started as everyone tucked into the stew, "Has anyone heard from Remus lately?"
The atmosphere around them noticeably became tenser. None of them had heard any news from the werewolf friend for what felt like months. Sirius confirmed this fact:
"No, I haven't heard from him since Harry's birthday. He sends the occasional letter, but it's never more than four or five sentences tops. Other than that, he seems to have gone AWOL."
James and Lily exchanged worried glances. Sirius could understand why; Remus Lupin was one of their closest friends but it was common knowledge among them that Voldemort was after the Potters for whatever reason, and they weren't sure who to trust anymore. They feared that a person from their side was being a spy for Voldemort and was passing information about the Potters secretly. And since no one heard from Remus in quite a while, and every time they saw him he wouldn't meet their eyes, he was near the top of the "Suspects" list.
Sirius refused to believe that one of his best friends would sell James, Lily, and Harry out to Voldemort, but he was afraid that Voldemort might lure Remus to the Dark Side with his persuasive ways. Wanting desperately to wipe the anxious expressions of the couple's faces (even Harry seemed to realize that this was a serious moment, and he too had gone quiet), Sirius spoke up.
"But you're safe remember? We switched to Peter for being Secret Keeper. Voldemort would never imagine old Wormy being Secret Keeper!"
This apparently relaxed James a Lily a bit, but Sirius noticed James holding Harry a little closer to his chest as though trying to protect him from an invisible being.
"Yes…yes of course." said Lily quietly, "I was only worried for Remus, that's all."
There was an awkward pause and Sirius glanced towards the clock hanging above the kitchen doorway. It read 9:02 p.m.
"It's getting late, I should be going. Thanks for the great meal Lily." said Sirius, rising from his chair. James stood up as well.
"You don't have to go, Sirius," but Sirius interrupted him with a wave of his hand.
"It's okay, James. I have papers to finish for the Order, and it's past Harry's bedtime anyways."
"That it is." said Lily, who sent the dishes into the sink to wash themselves with a flick of her wand. James handed her Harry who indeed was starting to look a little bleary-eyed.
Sirius gave James a brotherly hug, kissed Lily on the cheek, and gently stroked Harry's head before saying goodbye, and heading out the door. When he reached the boundaries of the Fidelius Charm, he turned on his heel, and disapparated with a small pop into the compressing darkness.
~*~
The papers took nearly two hours to finish. By the time Sirius finally threw down his quill in exhaustion, it was already 10:58 p.m. Rubbing his eyes tiredly, Sirius was about to head to his bedroom for a good night's sleep when a soft knock sounded upon the front door. Sirius contemplated just going to bed and ignoring the visitor, but the knocks became more persistent the more he ignored them. Finally, he decided just to answer.
Albus Dumbledore was revealed in the doorway. Even in the dark, Sirius could see that Dumbledore looked deeply solemn, and the usual twinkle in his eyes had died.
"Good evening, Sirius." he said quietly, "Pardon me for intruding so late, but may I come in?"
"Of course." Sirius said, standing back to let his former Headmaster in.
When Sirius closed the door behind him, he turned to face Dumbledore.
The Headmaster looked almost on the verge of tears. This scared Sirius. What on Earth could have happened to evoke such emotions from Albus Dumbledore?
"There has been a terrible attack at the Potter's house." Sirius' heart stopped beating, "Someone has betrayed them and Voldemort forced himself into their home. Sirius…James and Lily are…" but he couldn't finish. Sirius didn't need him to. He knew perfectly well what that last word was. He knew it the moment Dumbledore had said there was an attack at the Potter's house.
But this couldn't be true. It couldn't! James and Lily were safe! They made Peter Secret Keeper! Wait…Peter…
Rage filled Sirius like never before. It was a hatred so powerful, he was surprised Dumbledore could not feel it radiating off of him. How could he? That little traitorous bastard!
"Sirius…" Dumbledore whispered, attempting to put a hand on Sirius' shoulder, but he shrugged it off. He had to see the truth for himself.
Turning sharply, he wrenched open the door, and left Dumbledore standing in his apartment as he flew down the building stairs. In his panic, Sirius had completely forgotten he could do magic and he ran as fast as he could towards his best friend's house. Or rather, what would be left of it.
He got there fast, as he lived not too far away, and his blood ran cold as he saw the house. Part of the roof had been caved in, and the front door had been ripped off its hinges. Curious Muggles were pointing at the house and leaning on the gate to get a better look. Sirius ran forwards, ignoring the shouts of Muggles telling him he couldn't go in there.
As he entered the house, he was met with a sight he'd hoped desperately he'd never have to see. A sight he'd seen only in his nightmares, but was now his reality.
James Potter was lying deathly still upon the hallway floor. Sirius dropped to his knees and turned him over on his back with shaking hands. A trail of blood was leaking down James' cheek, his mouth was slightly open, and his eyes…his eyes were pale, cold, and empty. They were devoid of their sparkle and warmth that usually were held in his hazel irises. The glasses framing them were broken and lopsided. James Potter was dead.
Grief wracked through Sirius' entire body. His bones and veins felt like they were on fire. He couldn't breathe or see properly as sobs were wrenched from his mouth. His best friend, who was living and breathing not moments ago, now lay still and cold on the hallway floor. He would never again crack a random joke, never again would he play mini-Quidditch with his son, and never again would he talk to Sirius. He had left the world, had left his family, had left Sirius.
Still crying, Sirius slowly rose to his wobbling feet. He ascended the stairs, dreading what he would see upstairs. How much more of this could he take?
He gently pushed the nursery door open, and his worst fear was confirmed. It was nearly completely destroyed. The roof that had caved in now lay in pieced on the floor, the hole it left opened up to the heavens. Here and there, furniture lay on their sides, and wallpaper peeled from its place. But worst of all was the young woman resting as dead as her husband on the ground.
Sirius' heart yet again broke painfully. His choked sobs almost sounded like screams now. Just when he was thinking there was no more reason for him to live, he heard a sound; a sound that lifted his spirits more than anything. It was the whimper of a baby boy.
Hardly daring to believe it, Sirius all but ran towards the cot on the opposite wall. There, lying awake, with a peculiar cut in the shape of a lightning bolt on his forehead, was Harry Potter. Sirius felt relief course through his body so powerfully, it was almost painful.
"Thank God…thank God." Sirius whispered to the heavens, clutching the ends of the cot as though it was his lifeline. Seeing his Godfather so distressed, Harry started to whimper and cry.
"Shh, shh, it's okay Harry. I've got you now…you're safe." Sirius said as he gently lifted Harry out of the cot and into his arms. The baby continued to cry, but Sirius tried his best to soothe him.
Suddenly, there sounded what seemed to be a wail of despair from downstairs. It was oddly familiar yet Sirius still took out his wand, just in case.
Heavy thudding noises came from the stairwell. Sirius' pulse and breath quickened. Next second, a huge and wild-looking man stood in the doorway. It was too dark to see his face.
"Stop! Who are you?" Sirius demanded, pointing his wand at the person.
"H-hold yer fire! I-It's me, Hagrid!" the person said through choking sobs. Hagrid stepped into a patch of moonlight, and Sirius recognized the friendly half-giant at once, so he lowered his wand.
Hagrid took one look at Lily, dead on the floor, and burst into a fresh wave of tears.
"I c-can't believe i-it! J-James and Lily d-d-dead!" he choked out in misery.
"But Harry's here, Harry's alive!" Sirius said, trying hard to console Hagrid despite the gaping hole in his heart.
"I heard." Hagrid sniffled, "D-Dumbledore told me teh come an' get `im."
"What?! NO!" Sirius yelled, causing Harry to cry louder. He held him close. "Please, Hagrid, no. Give him to me, I'll take care of him. I'm his Godfather, please." He was nearly begging now.
Hagrid shook his great head sadly. "Can't Sirius. Dumbledore's orders. He said tha' it's of the utmos' importance tha' Harry lives with his aunt an' uncle."
Sirius felt his stomach twist. Harry, go live with the Dursleys? What was Dumbledore playing at? But as he looked down at the tiny whimpering infant in his arms, he knew that Dumbledore only had Harry's best interests at heart. There must be something special about the Dursleys Sirius didn't know about. And after all, Harry living with him would be risky; people who knew about the plan to keep the Potters hidden thought that Sirius was still the Secret Keeper. This would lead them to believe that Sirius betrayed the Potters. No, it was better Harry didn't have that hanging over his head.
"Alright." Sirius gave in, reluctantly handing Harry over to Hagrid who took him with surprising gentleness for such a large person. "But take care of him, okay?"
"'Course." choked out Hagrid before he succumbed to grief-stricken tears once more.
The three of them made their way down the stairs, and it was all Sirius could do not to join Hagrid in crying as Harry said, "Dadda?" when they past James' body. Sirius closed his eyes; he could not look at his best friend any longer.
When they got to the front of the gate (thankfully free of intruding Muggles), Hagrid groaned.
"I forgo' I can't apparate. How can I get Harry ter Dumbledore?" he muttered.
A sudden thought struck Sirius.
"Wait here." he said as he hurried into the Potter's garage. He searched around, pushing boxes aside until he found it: his prized flying motorbike which James had agreed to keep in his garage for safekeeping.
Sirius walked the bike out of the garage and back to Harry and Hagrid.
"Take my motorbike to meet Dumbledore. It flies." he added at Hagrid's puzzled look.
"A-are yeh sure Sirius? Yeh love that bike." Hagrid asked, uncertainly.
Sirius glanced at the bike, then at the semi-demolished house. "I won't be needing it anymore." he stated grimly.
Hagrid gave a nod of understanding before mounting the bike, Harry tucked safely in his arms.
"G'bye, Sirius." said Hagrid, forlornly.
"Bye Hagrid, bye Harry." Sirius replied giving Harry a last gentle stroke of his hair.
Sirius stood back and watched as Hagrid made the bike roar to life, and rumble down the street before taking off into the air. He started at them until they became nothing more than a speck in the velvety black sky.
He sighed as he gave Number Twenty-Seven, Godric's Hollow one final glance.
"Goodbye, James and Lily." he whispered before disappearing with a turn of his heel.
And so begins the story of Harry James Potter
It's not a cry that you hear at night,
It's not somebody who's seen the light,
It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah.
Hallelujah,
Hallelujah,
Hallelujah,
Hallelujah.
A/N: Please review and tell me what you think!
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