the_debt_of_time

"I could live with you?" Harry nearly shouted. "Leave the Dursleys?"
"I understand if you wouldn't want to―"
"Are you insane?" Harry croaked.
Sirius stopped in his tracks and turned back to look at his godson, who stared at
him with a clear, penetrating gaze. Sirius briefly looked to the witch next to Harry, who
was smiling at him kindly, looking like the love of his life that had vanished fourteen years
ago.
Am I insane? Sirius thought to himself and then just chuckled under his breath.
"Of course I want to leave the Dursleys!" Harry exclaimed, pulling Sirius's attention
away from the girl. "Have you got a house? When can I move in?"
Sirius chuckled at the boy's enthusiasm; it was so reminiscent of James that it hurt.
He took note of Harry's distinct lack of caring for leaving the Dursleys, and while he
certainly could not blame him—having met Petunia and Vernon several times—he
mentally filed the moment away, knowing that at some point in the future he would need
to inquire about Harry's life under their care. "You want to? You mean it?"
Harry grinned. "Yeah, I mean it!"
Sirius continued to levitate Snape out of the Whomping Willow, standing back to
let Harry and the girl through the exit beneath the tree until they were all out in the open.
He took a deep breath, feeling free for the first time in twelve years.
"One wrong move, Peter," Remus threatened before suddenly falling forward,
clutching at his chest and gasping. "Sirius.. ."
Oh no. Sirius's eyes flickered immediately to the sky, where he saw the moon slowly
rising above the clouds.
"Oh, no!" the girl said, launching herself in front of Harry as though she could
somehow protect him from a transforming werewolf. The sight would have made Sirius
laugh had they not been in incredible danger.
Sirius moved between the teenagers and Remus, who was shaking, teeth clenched,
trying to hold back the screams as the pain wracked his body. Knowing the inevitable was
about to happen, Sirius turned toward her and stared into deep brown eyes. "Run," he
whispered. "Run, now."