*-The Phoenix's Message-*

Sirius was startled awake by a blinding flash of crimson light and the mournful cry of a bird. He sat up, bolt-upright in alarm and groggily reached for his wand. He then relaxed slightly, seeing that it was only Dumbledore's pet; Fawkes, a phoenix. A note had been dropped on his lap and the phoenix vanished from sight.

"Sirius...?" Remus mumbled from beside him. "Hang on- Fawkes just dropped a note...Lumos," the light from Sirius' ebony wand illuminated every crevice of the shabby bedroom as his eyes scanned the slanting green writing on the piece of parchment.

He felt his world crashing down- his best friend of ten years was DEAD. His godson was ORPHANED. He was supposed to go and live with MUGGLES.

He ran to the wardrobe, pulling on a pair of jeans and a leather jacket over his pajama t-shirt. "Sirius, what's going on?" Remus' sounded more alert, his voice laced with concern. "I'll be back,"

~_*_~

The cold night air stung his eyes as Sirius climbed onto his motorbike, soaring into the sky, the wind whipping his face and freezing the tears on his face.

He arrived at the wreckage of the Potter's cottage a few minutes later. He could hear his godson's wails disrupting the quiet environment of the small village.

The walls of the cottage were crumbling and debris littered the ground around him. Sirius leapt from his bike and rushed up the stairs to gather the baby in his arms.

He had to step over the bodies of James and Lily to reach the crib, it made Sirius feel sick with guilt and sorrow. They weren't coming back.

He held Harry in his arms, rocking him gently, trying to calm his shaking limbs. "Pa-ddy?" said the boy, a scar cut into his forehead in the shape of a lightning bolt. "Don't worry, Harry...I've got you..." said Sirius through his tears.

~_*_~

When they got back to the apartment, Remus was pacing around the kitchen, a mug of strong tea in his hands. When Sirius unlocked the door and let himself in, the baby fast asleep bundled in a blanket, Remus dropped his cup of tea, the hot liquid spilling onto the floor, the ceramic mug shattering. "Reparo, scourgify," he choked, running over to his boyfriend and best friend's orphaned child.

~_*_~

They slumped onto the sofa, arms around each other, holding the baby, tears of grief cascading down their cheeks. "They're gone- and it's all Peter's fault!" breathed Sirius, trying to regain control.

"Dumbledore... he said... that they were going to give him to Lily's sister- but no fucking way, we are raising him. That horse-looking bitch hates magic. Imagine how they'd treat him..." Sirius shuddered, looking down at the child pitifully.

Remus sighed, his head on Sirius' shoulder, still trembling from shock and sadness. "Harry'll need somewhere to sleep..." he said, conjuring a crib, levitating it to their bedroom, followed by Sirius who placed the child in cot then leaned into Remus' embrace.

"They're gone, Moony..." he whispered into Remus' neck. Remus nodded sadly, stroking Sirius' hair, a tear dripping from his amber eyes into the long black locks.