Chapter 4

Journey

Sirius woke up, shook himself out, and began what he knew would be a long trek. Before doing so though, he decided to transform, figuring that he'd be able to think a little more clearly, and perhaps sensibly, though he himself knew that his mental health was questionable at the moment, having just escaped from 12 horrible years in Azkaban. Yet he knew that people could recover. Jasper Odair for example. He smirked a little, remembering his old joke whenever he saw Jasper. 'Odaaaair he is!' He missed those days.

Jasper had mistakenly been sent to Azkaban in their 5th or 6th year, but he wasn't sure, his memory having been played with by the dementors. As he recalled it though, Jasper had been in Azkaban for a while, though nowhere near to the amount of time Sirius had spent in that dreadful place. It had taken a long time, but eventually, Jasper was as close to normal after his trip to Azkaban as he was going to get. 

Lost in these thoughts, he didn't notice a tree root sticking out, and he tripped, landing on the ground with an "Oomph!" Well, that was one way to start his journey. 

He decided to go to Little Winging. He wanted to see Harry, his godson. He knew the sight of him would be painful since he was sure that he would have looked exactly like James. But he had to see him. It might be his only chance to do so if his plan to capture Wormtail didn't work. But it was going to work, and hopefully, he'd be able to be the godfather to Harry that he should have been entitled to be. 

He transformed once more, knowing that unless he got some sustenance, he'd be unable to do so again. He ran through the woods, the Deja Vu practically running through his paws. He'd done this so many times... he just wished that he didn't have to be alone while experiencing the flood of recollection. He half expected to see a stag peeking out from behind a bush to run next to him, prayed for it silently, but it never happened, as he knew it would. 

He continued running, pausing for breaks every now and then. Something caught his attention during one of these breaks though. He sniffed the air. Rabbit. He crouched down, seeing the floppy ears of the creature peeking out from behind a bush. Stepping tentatively, making sure that his tail couldn't brush anything, he stalked forward, slowly and silently. He was 3 feet away, the rabbit unaware, still happily nibbling on something from behind its bush. 

Suddenly, a cracking sound came from underneath Snuffles' paw, and the rabbit, alarmed, hopped away. He tried to chase after it but to no avail. He came back, looking for the source of the noise. It was a stick. Frustrated, he picked it up with his mouth and clamped down on it, releasing his anger into the surprisingly strong stick. He dropped it, seeing the fact that the stick wouldn't break as a sign to stop biting it, knowing that he could have ended up with a mouthful of splinters if that stick broke. 

He kept running, slowing down, walking, taking breaks, and back to running again, repeating the cycle, until, by some miracle, he saw smoke coming out of a chimney overhead. He ran towards the smoke, overjoyed to find that he'd stumbled upon a neighborhood. He barked gleefully and ran in. The smoke was coming from a home in the middle, and he crouched by the side of another home, watching.

An old dog was crouched over a bowl, from which tantalizing scents reached Snuffles' own nose. The dog didn't seem to be able to eat, however, and after a little while, his owner came out. "Oh Jack, you sure you can't eat anything?"

The dog whimpered and tried to get up the steps to the porch, but his hind legs dragged behind him, rendering him unable to. The owner tenderly picked the dog- Jack, as he was called, and carried him inside. Snuffles watched, touched by the display. What if... the thought formed in his head, he just stayed here? The man was obviously caring, and though he'd never know Snuffles to be anything but a dog, he knew that the man would take good care of him. 

No! He ripped his mind away from the thought. He was headed to Little Winging, where he would see his godson, and then he'd head to Hogwarts, where he knew that rat would be staying with his owner. But first, it wouldn't hurt to get some sustenance. He scrambled up the steps of the house and ate Jack's meal, which was succulent and meaty, the most flavorful thing Sirius had eaten in the past 12 years. 

As he ate, he could sense Jack's presence on the other side of the door, and clearly, by communicating in their own little doggy telepathic language, Snuffles knew that even if he wanted to live here, which he did, though his desire to get revenge was stronger, Jack would most certainly not allow it. 

He ate quickly and ran into the shadows. A neighborhood was a good sign since it meant that he had reached civilization. Also, it was a muggle neighborhood, and he knew from experience that any muggle neighborhood would have some sort of city or town-like structure built near it, which would contain grocery stores and shops, another good sign that he was moving deeper into civilization.

Time was precious at the moment. Knowing the ministry, they would try to cover up the story the best they could, trying not to make themselves look like fools in front of the wizarding community. That would buy him time since no one would be looking for him except some Aurors trusted with the task, but they'd have an awful time finding Sirius Black since Sirius Black was currently in the form of a dog named Snuffles. 

It also occurred to Sirius that he needed a wand. Being a dog, it wouldn't be too hard to procure one, meaning that Sirius, so far, had gotten away with his escape. 

He went on further. Days passed, though he wasn't sure how many. All he knew was that he had to get to Little Winging as soon as possible, before word spread that he'd escaped, making him officially wanted. 

He'd been resting in the shade between a parked car and the curb, trying to appear unnoticeable when he saw it. His own face, peering back at him from a TV screen. Oh no. If he was known to Muggles for being an escaped convict, the whole wizarding world knew as well. And that meant that they'd release the dementors to go find him. He knew from experience that the ministry would stop at nothing to make themselves look good in the eyes of the wizarding world, and he was afraid that they might actually succeed for once. 

He made it to Little Winging by the cover of night and was faced with a brand-new problem. The idea of going there seemed simple, but how on Earth was he supposed to find Harry? He figured that Harry wouldn't be out this late, so he crouched behind the bushes by the side of a house, and fell asleep. 

A shrieking sound pierced his sensitive ears. By pure instinct, he jumped up, startled, his fur sticking up all over the place. Blearily blinking the sleep out of his eyes, Snuffles looked around, alarmed, for the sound of the voice. That's when he saw her. There, wearing a pink flowered apron and a hot pink frying pan, reminding him very strongly of someone he'd met in the past, Dolores Umbridge, was a woman. He didn't have to think twice. He bolted, racing out onto the sidewalk. "And don't come back you mangy mutt!!!" She hollered after him, waving the frying pan around. 

He ran and ran, finally making it to the cover of a large cluster of bushes, and panting, lay down there. What the hell was that all about? A car door slamming made him jump again, still frazzled by Umbridge's twin down the street. He peered through the leafy bushes. What looked like two pink beachballs were walking down the sidewalk, one of them holding many bags, and sporting a ridiculous mustache, while the other carried another dog, which definitely didn't look friendly. 

He ducked into the bushes as the other dog's nose twitched, not wanting him to alert his owners and reveal Sirius. 

He crouched again, and with great difficulty, sank into an uneasy sleep, which was constantly interrupted by car doors, the occasional crying of a child, and of course, the everyday firecracker tossed out of a window by some kid for fun. 

At last, he was able to sleep peacefully, until a series of yelling came from the house he was crouched next to. There was so much of it going on that he couldn't hear everything, but he heard the words "wasn't" and "drunk". After 5 minutes or so of this, there was a series of indecipherable yelling, punctuated by a shout of "Maaaarrrgee!" He wondered who Marge was. Just as suddenly, the door of the house slammed, and a boy stepped out, clearly agitated. 

He lugged a heavy school trunk behind him, and in his hand, was a wand. There had to be only one wizard boy in this neighborhood. This had to be Harry. He crept out of the bush and tailed him, knowing that Harry was far too agitated to notice his presence. 

The untidy black hair, the way he walked, even the way he gripped his wand. It was exactly like James. He was exactly like James. 

Harry stopped after a while and sat on the curb. Sirius hid behind yet some more bushes on the other side of the street and watched him keenly. He had glasses as well, and, as remembered, he had her eyes. Lily's emerald green eyes. 

Harry looked up as Sirius was watching him. Their eyes locked. Sirius crept out from behind the bush, thinking that he'd just say hi, as a dog of course, when Harry gasped and fell over, his wand arm sticking up in the air as he did so. Sirius knew what that meant. 

Suddenly the Knight Bus was upon them, and Sirius turned tail and ran into the bushes, knowing that if Harry, or whoever was assisting him on the bus spotted him, he'd be in deep trouble. 

With the thought that he'd at least seen Harry, he slunk off into the night.