A New Daddy for Harry

Present Day

Sirius stepped out of the courthouse. He felt a huge sense of relief now that there one less Death Eater causing death and destruction. Peter Pettigrew had just been given a life sentence in Azkaban prison. It had been three months since the deaths of James and Lily Potter, and one month since Sirirus Black had captured the Death Eater Peter Pettigrew. He smiled broadly at the reporters who were waiting to know the outcome of the trial that had captured the Wizarding worlds' attention.

Death Eaters were being captured and given trials, but Pettigrew's story had attracted more attention due to the fact that Pettigrew didn't fit the stereotype of a typical dark wizard. Most witches and wizards had pretty firm ideas of how to spot a dark wizard, but now many of them were re-evaluating their long held beliefs. Pettigrew had been a Gryffindor and a part of the famous Marauders. Who would have guessed that someone like Peter Pettigrew would go over to the dark side? The wiarding community now had to face the fact that not all dark wizards fit the same mold.

Sirius had gone directly to the Ministry after the deaths of James and Lily. He had managed to convince Minister Fudge (with the the help of a truth serum) that Peter Pettigrew had betrayed the Potters' location to Voldemort.

Sirius had spent nearly two months tracking down the rat. He had searched all over Britian and used many location charms to find Peter; but all the location charms could tell him was that Peter was somewhere in Britian. He had finally caught him while he was visiting Professor Dumbledore at Hogwarts.

One month ago

As Sirius was walking down the corridor leading to Dumbledore's office, two redheaded boys came running down the corridor chasing a little ball of fur. It was running too fast for Sirius to recognize his old schoolmate. One of the boys shouted "Stupid rat!"

It didn't occur to Sirius that this was the rat he had been looking for two and a half months. Thinking that he could help these two boys retreive their pet, he withdrew his wand and said, "Accio rat!" Sirius was surprised when the spell didn't work. It took him a split second to realize that this was his rat. "Accio Peter Pettigrew!"

In the next second the rat had flown into his outstretched hand. The two boys who had been chasing Peter, approached Sirius.

"Hey! That's our pet rat! His name is Scabbers, not Peter!" said the older boy.

"I'm afraid not boys. This is Peter Pettigrew. He's a Death Eater," informed Sirius.

Bill and Charlie both had looks of surprise on their faces. 'Scabbers' had shown up at the Burrow a couple of months ago. Mrs. Weasley wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of a pet rat, but finally agreed to let the Weasley children keep the rodent.

After the capture of Peter Pettigrew, the Wizarding World saw Sirius as a hero for capturing the dangerous Death Eater. Sirirus was almost as well-known as the Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter.

Present Day

'Now I can get custody of Harry!' thought Sirius eagerly as he walked towards the Ministry.

His thoughts were interupted when a reporter from the 'Daily Prophet' approached him.

"Mr. Black, I am Rita Skeeter from the 'Daily Prophet'. Could you please describe the dangerous circumstances under which you captured the evil Death Eater, Peter Pettigrew?" she asked.

Sirius was tongue-tied for a moment. 'Dangerous circumstances?' Sirius thought. He fought down the urge to laugh. He briefly entertained the idea of making up a more interesting story, but then decided to stick with the truth.

"Um, well, he was running down a corridor in rat form, and I summoned him into my hand," said Sirius truthfully.

The reporter look more than a little disappointed. Obviously she had expected a story that involved a bit more danger and excitment.

Rita's attention was distracted when Minister Fudge exited the courthouse. She immediately made a beeline for him.

Sirius was relieved that the annoying Rita Skeeter had found somebody else to bother. He had more important matters to attend to. Getter custody of his Godson, being the most important matter of all.

Sirius walked into the Ministry lobby where he proceeded to take the lift to the tenth floor. One of the offices on the tenth floor handled child custody disputes and adoptions.

Sirius approached the desk where a tired-looking middle-aged witch was sitting behind the desk.

Sirius glanced at the nameplate on the desk: Mary Smyth.

"What can I do for you?" asked Mary as she glanced up from her work.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Smyth. My name is Sirius Black. I would like to become Harry Potter's guardian. I am his Godfather.

"Sirius Black? The Sirius Black!?" exclaimed Mary Smyth.

"Well, yes. Unless you know another Sirius Black," said Sirirus.

"You're the one who caught that Death Eater Peter Pettigrew!" said Mary with a star-struck smile.

'Oh, right,' thought Sirius. 'She must have read about it in the 'Daily Prophet.''

"You're quite a hero, Mr. Black," said Mary.

Sirius didn't know what to say to this. He had been called a lot of names in his life (some of the names not quite so nice), but no one had ever referred to him as a hero before.

"Oh, I'm sorry for keeping you waiting with my babbling talk," said Mary.

She reach into a drawer and pulled out a fairly thick stack of parchments. She handed them to Sirius.

"Just fill out these forms and give them back to me. You should receive an owl within a few days informing you when and where the custody hearing will take place," informed Mary.

Sirius took the forms and made his way over to the waiting area. The wait area had several chairs and a table which was supplied with quills and ink bottles.

It took Sirius an hour to fill out thirty-five forms. He was undaunted by the paperwork. Whateven he was required to do to gain custody of Harry, Sirius would do it.

After he finished with the paperwork, he walked back to Mary Smyth's desk. He handed her the parchments.

"I think you'll make a wonderful father, Mr. Black," gushed Mary.

"Well, thank you," said Sirius who was feeling really good about the idea of raising his Godson.

Sixteen-month-old Harry was currently living with Muggle relatives of Lily's. Sirius was allowed visitations for one hour every Saturday. Harry's living conditions were less than ideal. It was obvious that he was being neglected and that the Dursley family cared little for Harry.

Sirius was extremely upset that with the Dursleys for making baby Harry sleep in a cupboard, and not giving him the love and attention that Harry needed. When Sirius visited, Harry clung to him and always cried when he had to leave.

He had been tempted to just take Harry out of the Dursley home without any sort of legal measure. Remus had convinced not to take that route. The last thing Sirius needed was to be arrested for kidnapping.

Sirius arrived at the house which he shared with Remus. Sirius had dubbed the house 'Marauders Manor'. The house wasn't huge but it could accommodate four people. Sirius and Remus were the only ones currently living there. James had lived there for a time after his graduation from Hogwarts. He had moved out after marrying Lily Evans. Peter had also lived there, but since his betrayal, everything that had belonged to Peter had been thrown out.

Sirius walked through the door which led directly into the den. The den had a sofa with two plush arm chairs on one side and another plush arm chair on the other side. There was a Muggle television set sitting on a small table in front of the sofa and chairs. The TV had been a gift from Lily. The fireplace was behind the TV. The walls of the room were light blue and the floor had a dark green carpet.

The kitchen was to the left of the front door. The kitchen was equipped with all the typical appliances, and a table and four chairs. The staircase was to the right of the font door. There were four bedrooms, a bathroom, and a library in the upstairs portion of the house. The house was also equipped with a celler that Remus used for his transformations. The backyard had a Quidditch pitch and a shed where all the Quidditch supplies were kept.

Sirius relaxed on the sofa. He picked up the remote and turned on the TV. He could here the sounds of Remus' old fashioned Muggle typewriter upstairs. Remus was working on an educational book about Werewolves.

Remus had been typing for hours. He decided that he could use a break from writing. He had heard the sounds coming from downstairs which could only mean that Sirius had returned home.

He made his way downstairs to find Sirius relaxing on the sofa, watching an old 'I Love Lucy' rerun and eating a bowl of crisps. Sirius chuckled as Lucy stuffed chocolates down her shirt.

"What happened at the trial?" asked Remus.

"Guilty. Life sentence," said Sirius tersely.

It was obvious that this wasn't a topic that Sirius wanted to discuss. Remus had wanted to attend the trial, but it wasn't opened to the general public. Sirius had been allowed to attend because he was called as a witness. Anyone who wasn't directly involved in the case, wasn't allowed in the courtroom.

"Well, did you do it?" asked Remus.

Sirirus didn't have to ask Remus what he meant.

"Yeah, I did it, Remus. I'm going to get to raise Harry!" exclaimed Sirius with excitement.

"Sirius, you do know that Child Protection Council will interview you and the Dursleys before they make a recommendation to the judge on who should be Harry's guardian. They may decide to recommend that Harry stay with the Muggles," said Remus.

"They can't do that!" shouted Sirius angrily.

"Harry needs to grow up in a place where he is loved and properly cared for," said Sirius.

"You don't think his Muggle relatives are taking good care of him?" asked Remus with a hint of worry in his voice.

"When I visited him, it was obvious that those people are neglecting him. He's too small for his age. They're not feeding him enough! He doesn't have any toys to play with. Their spoiled son has more than enough toys to play with and eats enough to feed Hagrid's three-headed dog, Fluffy! It's also pretty obvious that they aren't bathing or changing him as often as they should," explained Sirius with a great deal of anger.

Remus was surprised. Although, Lily's sister Petunia hadn't been close to Lily, it was hard for him to imagine how anyone could treat a baby in such a terrible manner.

"When is the custody hearing?" asked Remus.

"I'll be receiving an owl in a few days with the custody hearing information," replied Sirius.

"Have you prepared for Harry's arrival?" asked Reums.

"Not yet. With everything that's been happening recently with trial, I haven't had time to go shopping. I'm going to to to Magical Baby World in Hogsmead tomorrow to pick up a few things," said Sirius.

"Do you know what to buy?" asked Remus.

"I'll get him a bunch of toys, maybe even a toy broomstick!" said Sirius who was feeling really excited.

"He's a little young for a toy broomstick, Sirius. You should probably get him a stuffed animal, childrens story books, and maybe a teething ring. He'll also need a crib, clothes, nappies, and a changing table," said Remus.

"We'll give him James' old room," said Sirius.

Sirius and Remus both thought sadly of their friend James. They missed him.

Sirius picked up the remote and changed the channel to an action movie. They watched movies late into the night. Sirius' and Reumus' thoughts never strayed far from Harry.