the_debt_of_time

Harry was in danger. Sirius could not let himself just up and die when his godson needed
him.
He rather enjoyed being a dog in Muggle London. Despite his horrid appearance
and matted fur, the Muggles were mostly kind and looked upon him with pity. Even if they
were horrified by his appearance or thought he was rabid, most were eager to throw him
some scraps of food just to get him to go away or to distract him while they ran. By the
time he made it to Privet Drive, Sirius had eaten more in one day than he had in the past
four months. His stomach actually hurt from being so full.
But neither that, nor the broken ribs, nor the frigid waters were as painful as setting
eyes on his godson for the first time in twelve years. The boy had stormed out of his aunt
and uncle's house, and Sirius could hear Vernon Dursley screaming from inside. He
desperately wanted to rush up and bite the tosser in the leg, but Harry was rushing away
from the house on foot, dragging a large Hogwarts trunk behind him with an empty owl
cage under his arm.
Padfoot followed in the shadows, watching carefully as Harry stopped and dug
something silvery out of his trunk. He inwardly grinned at the sight of the old, familiar
Invisibility Cloak. He had wanted to go to Harry, explain everything, but before he could
even make a move, the Knight Bus had appeared and whisked the boy away.
Sirius spent the next month making his way toward Scotland, stopping here and
there to allow Muggle cameras to capture his human form just to distract the Aurors and
hopefully lead them in the wrong direction before he would shift back into Padfoot and
return on his journey toward Hogwarts.
The smells of Hogsmeade were overwhelming, and he wanted nothing more than
to rush into Honeydukes and buy out the entire shop. But not only was his image spread
across the front page of the Daily Prophet, he also had no access to money. Forcing himself
to focus, Padfoot made his way up the road to Hogwarts where he set up camp at the edge
of the Forbidden Forest, watching from a short distance—always on the lookout for the
rat.
The only diversion from his plans of vengeance had been the night of the full moon.
He remained in the Forbidden Forest, watching from a distance as his old friend walked
along the grounds wearing—of all ridiculous things—professor's robes. He watched Remus
make his way back to the castle where he must have had a room securely warded to spend