Harry Potter and the Power of the Past

Disclaimer: All JKR's, not mine.

Summary: This is a complete AU- Harry Potter is a 21-year-old wizard, who's on top of the world. He's rich, in love, and loved by all, but his life is turned upside down as a spiral of events leads to the ultimate battle between good and evil. Can Harry lead the fight for the light, but yet manage to keep his life together?

A/N: I know, I know, this first chapter is choppy, but I began this story a long, long time ago, and just recently started it back up. Over the years that this has been suspended, my writing style has drastically changed, so in the later chapters you'll start liking it more, I would presume. I tried to fix it up, but the way it's structured makes it too difficult. So enjoy, and trust in me that it will get better. Oh, and review!

Chapter 1: Escape to the godson

Hit Wizard Harry Potter walked out of Auror Headquarters one morning, longing for his bed after a long, tiresome night. It was early; most of the Aurors, Hit Wizards, and other Ministry Officials were just making their way into work. As he was walking up to the fireplace to floo back home, a pink haired witch stumbled into him, clumsily falling onto his chest. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I trip... Oh, it's just you, Potter." Nymphadora Tonks said with a smile, her orange eyes meeting Harry's green ones.

Harry rolled his eyes with a smile, saying, "Hey Nymphie, good to see you, too." Tonks blushed slightly at the nickname she only let Harry use, knowing that if anyone else were to call her that name, she'd immediately hex them.

"Going home?" The metamorphmagus asked with a frown, knowing that he had worked the night before.

"What, oh yes, long night, you know?" Harry replied, trying to stiffle yawn. "You are still coming for dinner tonight, right?" Tonks nodded her head, kissed him on the cheek and waved goodbye before she walked away, running a little late for work.

Shaking his head in amusement at the antics of his girlfriend, he flooed to his two bedroom flat in muggle London and made himself a quick breakfast. After he finished eating a few minutes later, he went to lie down in his bed, and immediately fell asleep when his head hit the pillow. He awoke a few hours later to a tapping at his window. Groggily, he rubbed his eyes, and then got up and opened the window. Mumbling something about bloody prophet owls, he paid the owl, threw the paper down onto the floor and went back to sleep.

He awoke a couple of hours later, around five o'clock, and started to prepare dinner. He was almost done when a noise came from the window again, but this time he was surprised when he saw that it wasn't the owl he expected. Instead, he saw a black-billed magpie carrying a roll of parchment that was wrapped tightly around its leg. He took the parchment from the bird, gave it an owl treat and watched as it went on its way. Taking a seat in the chair, the wizard unrolled the parchment and ran his eyes over what it said.

Dear Mr. Potter,

I am writing you to offer the Seeker position for the Montrose Magpies. Due to my age, I am stepping down and taking on the Coaching role. You are our first option, please lets us know if you are willing to partake in our road to greatness.

With respect,

Wendell Aldon

Harry rolled the parchment back up and placed it down on the end table, seemingly not giving it a second thought. Just then the fireplace erupted into green flames and Nymphadora Tonks stumbled out, an action that she couldn't prevent no matter how hard she tried. Harry smiled, greeted the female Auror with a kiss and showed her to the table, pushing the seat closer to the table after she had taken it. The dinner began as a quiet affair until Tonks started talking about quidditch, a common thread of conversation between the two. "Did you read in the prophet that Weasley has been made captain of the Cannons?"

"Really? I didn't read that." Harry replied with an arched eyebrow, knowing that Weasley had been on the team for a while and was probably deserving of the title.

"Yeah, they showed a picture of him at his house receiving the badge. His family was surrounding him, along with owls, rats, and the like, as well." Harry watched as Tonks got up and grabbed the paper, and then tossed it over to her boyfriend, before retaking her seat across from the Hit Wizard. Harry looked down at the picture, and sure enough, there sat Ronald Weasley; with his family, owls, and even a disgusting-looking house rat sitting on his shoulder, the picture made for quite a show. Harry smiled and threw the paper back over to the couch, not really interested in what it had to say.

"Hopefully, he won't drive the team into the ground. You know Aldon stepped down from seeker for the Magpies." Harry said while pouring himself another glass of Fire Whiskey.

"How did you know, I thought you didn't read the Prophet?" Tonks said quirking an eyebrow, curious on how he knew. Her eyes followed Harry as he walked over to the end table and picked up a rolled up piece of parchment, and then walked back and handed it to her to read.

As she was reading her eyes lit up and she squealed. "Harry, are you finally going to accept a position or does every team have to ask you first? I mean how many teams are left that haven't asked you to play either Seeker or Chaser?"

Harry smiled, replying, "Only the Harpies, Canons, Catapults, and the Wanderers are left. Anyway, I'm happy playing for the National team and being a Hit Wizard; it's enough for me, it really is. Plus the World Cup's in three months, I need to get ready for that."

"Do you know if you're playing Chaser or Seeker yet?" Tonks questioned, cleaning up the dishes with a swift flick of her wand. They bubbled and became spotless as they zoomed through the air towards the kitchen, retaking their place in the cabinets above the counters.

"No, not yet, either one is fine with me, though." Harry shrugged indifferently, knowing that he was equally good at playing either position and enjoyed both.

"I hope its Seeker. Last cup you did great at Chaser, but your first cup when you were Seeker, you were brilliant—Viktor and you really put up a show." She said, remembering the midair competition the pair had had. "What broom are you going to ride this time?" Tonks asked, wondering if Harry knew yet.

"Bryson Jewkes is creating one for the English team, he says it's going to be even faster than the Firebolt." Harry excitedly replied. "So how did the Azkaban Auror check go yesterday?" Harry inquired, changing the subject from quidditch to work.

"Dawlish wasn't in today." Tonks replied as they moved over to the couch in front of the fire, and quickly fell asleep leaning on each other.

Tonks woke up the next morning, and quietly walked next door to her flat. She made a light breakfast, and flooed to the Ministry, running a little late for work as she always seemed to do. A few minutes later, she apparated back into Harry's flat with a loud crack, and quickly ran over to Harry and shook him awake. "Harry, Harry, wake up, you need to come to the Ministry." He opened one of his eyes and shot up to his feet once he saw her face: she had a look of fear, one that he had never seen her wear before.

"Nymphie, what's wrong?" Harry asked her, worriedly.

"My cousin Black escaped." Tonks answered with pure horror in her voice, knowing that he would be coming after Harry to finish off the job his master couldn't do. "Shacklebolt wants you to come with him to investigate. Get dressed quickly."

Harry ran into his room, threw on his blood red Hit Wizard robes and rushed to the fireplace. Once he got to the Ministry, he ran straight to the Auror headquarters' with Tonks right on his heels. When he arrived there, he saw Minister Bones, Head of the Aurors Gawain Robards, lead Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement Rufus Scrimgeour, and Headmaster Dumbledore.

"Thank's for coming so quickly, Harry, we're leaving right away." Kingsley ordered, leading him out the door. When they arrived at Azkaban after a ferry ride, they were escorted to Sirius Black's cell, where the pair intended to search for anything they could find. "How do you think he did it? It has never been done before." Kingsley asked him on the way to the cell, knowing that they would need to find out how before they could find out where he went.

"What did Dawlish say about him after his check on the prisoners?" Harry wondered out loud, trying to piece together whatever information he could.

"He said that Black was sane, almost eerily so. He asked to see the picture of Ron Weasley, said something about his favorite team being the Cannons." Kingsley replied, finally arriving at the cell after descending down into the depths of Azkaban. When they both entered the dark and dank cell, they recognized claw marks on the walls, like one would find if they owned a cat. After noticing this, Harry ordered everyone to leave so he could be alone, and once he was the only one left in the cell, he transformed into a medium sized white tiger with a pop.

He started to sniff around, and immediately he recognized the scent of an animal. Already knowing that Black was an animagus through his friendship with Remus Lupin, he suspected that was how Sirius stayed sane so long. He escaped the Dementors by changing into a dog, since animals had lesser emotions than humans did. Brilliant if you ask me, Harry mused to himself. After changing back into a human, he cast a few simple tracking charms to draw people away from knowing he was an animagus; after all, he didn't become one of the best trackers for the Ministry by being as dumb as a troll. He left the cell and found Kingsley waiting for him right outside, an expectant look on his face.

"Find anything, or should I say sniff anything?" Shacklebolt whispered with a smirk on his face. Other than Tonks, Remus, and Kingsley, no one else knew of Harry's animagus ability, which came in handy when Harry was working on a case. He, like his father, had become an animagus to help his mentor Remus Lupin during the full moons. After taking two and a half years of research and testing, he accomplished it by himself in the middle of his sixth year, and he's been accompanying Remus once a month ever since. That night was one of the occasions he would be with Remus during the moons, ironically enough.

After leaving Azkaban with what everyone else except Harry thought were no new clues, they arrived back at the Ministry. Being Harry's day off, he said he was going to think about what he learned at home and excused himself from the Ministry. With a pop, he apparated out and into the Leaky Cauldron, and after a quick lunch, he decided to walk to his flat, while he pondered what he had learned.

He escaped in his dog form, that I know for sure. Why would he escape now, though? He's been in there for twenty years? What about that paper, what does that have to do with anything, if at all, Harry mused to himself. He was pulled out of his thoughts when a garbage can was knocked over in the alley next to his flat building. The can was knocked over by a thin, shaggy black dog, whose hair was matted down and his ribs were protruding. When Harry saw it, the dog crept back into the shadows, as if it was scared by the sight of a human.

Well speak of the devil, Harry thought with a smile on his face. He walked over to the dog and bent down to pet him. "Are you hungry boy?" The dog just tilted his head in response. "Here, follow me. I'll give you something to eat." The dog shyly followed Harry up into his flat.

When they both were inside, Harry closed the door, took out his wand, and put silence and locking charms on the room. He then turned around and stared straight at the shaggy black dog, meeting its gaze. "You can come out now, Sirius." Harry said, softly. Sirius' eyes widened and he backed away, turning his head in each direction to figure a way out. Harry laughed at the dog's actions, continuing on, "Don't worry, I just want to talk, look my wand's away." After Harry said that, the dog watched as he put his wand in his pocket. Once the wand was away, he looked at Harry again, this time curiously, and with a pop, there stood the most dangerous prisoner of Azkaban: the only man ever to escape, Harry's godfather, the infamous prisoner Sirius Black.

Like in his dog form, he was gaunt and thin, but still incredibly tall—just an inch or two below Harry's own height. His skin was waxy and pale, and stretched so tightly to his face that it made his face look like a bare skull. His hair was black and filthy, long enough to hang down to his elbows, and matted with mud and grime. His eyes were dark and heavy, yet still held a grayish gleam as if he was happy to see Harry, though Harry didn't understand why he would be. His teeth were rotted and yellowed; however, they were surprisingly still all there. Though covered in grime and dirt, one could see the aristocratic good looks that he had—even with them being hollowed out by his years in Azkaban.

Sirius voiced cracked due to disuse as he spoke. "How, how did you know it was me?" He said, looking at Harry with his eyes in their deep and dark sockets. He was wearing ragged gray robes; the same robes that prisoners were issued upon first entering Azkaban.

Harry answered with one word: "Remus." Sirius nodded in understanding, knowing that Remus would know exactly what Sirius looked like as a dog. "So why now, after twenty years, did you escape?" asked Harry, taking a seat on one of the chairs. He pointed at the chair across from him, and Sirius took it, knowing that his godson was in control of the situation.

"I'm innocent." Sirius croaked without looking at Harry. Harry, though startled, did not show it, instead continued to stare at Sirius with an almost hate-filled gaze.

"Look me in the eye and tell me that." spat Harry. Sirius looked up and again said he was innocent, just as he had before. Harry, using his legilimency skills, knew he was telling the truth, or at least a half-truth. "Explain."

Sirius took a second to collect his thoughts, trying to remember every detail of what had happened twenty years ago. "Remus told you I was an animagus, right?" at Harry's nod he continued. "Did he tell you that your father and Pettigrew were also? Did he tell you that Pettigrew was able to turn into a rat?" Harry again nodded. "Did he tell you the story of how I was captured? What was the only thing left of Pettigrew after I supposedly blew Pettigrew to pieces?"

At that, Harry looked up with wide eyes, a bit confused. "A finger." Harry replied, not really comprehending where this was going. He escaped, and then claims that he's innocent. If that were the case, then that means Pettigrew's alive and well. But no one has seen him since he died. How could he hide for all these years? Unless…Looking up, Sirius saw something dawn in Harry's eyes; like he had a newfound understanding of the situation.

"The paper." He whispered, then ran into the kitchen and picked up the prophet from yesterday. He rushed back into the room and opened it, then turned right to the quidditch section and looked at the picture of Ron Weasley standing up with his missing-toed rat on his shoulder. "That's Pettigrew?" asked Harry, earning a nod from Sirius.

"You see, he blew up the street himself, and killed all those muggles. He cut his finger off and screamed 'Lily and James, Sirius, how could you?'." Sirius supplied, hoping that Harry would understand.

"How could you, though? He was your best friend! I should have killed you by now, you know that, right?" spat Harry, his anger boiling up inside of him when he realized who it was he was talking to.

Tears welled up in Sirius' eyes, real and salty tears. "Harry, I would never betray your father, I would have rather died than do that. You see, back then I was arrogant, thought my self more clever than everyone else. I told your parents to choose Peter as the secret keeper as I suspected the traitor in the Order to be Remus, not Peter. So I told them to pick Peter, while I went into hiding; Voldemort would be looking for me and not Peter, and as a result, you would be safe. After all, who would have suspected a talent-less rat to be picked as the secret keeper?" His eyes flicked to Harry's, who was staring back at him coldly, apparently not believing him. "You've got to believe me, Harry, I loved your parents. They were my best friends. I would have rather died than betray them. You're my godson, I would never willingly let you down, but I did and I'm sorry. I'm the reason you grew up an orphan."

Harry heard the sincerity in his voice, and the tears falling down the dirtied man's face. Harry himself had tears in his eyes, as memories of his early childhood came flooding back to him. "So you were innocent of everything? You were framed by the rat?" When Sirius nodded, Harry got up and walked over to a cabinet. He opened up the top part, and took out three vials of potion and a wand. After putting the wand in his pocket, he walked back over to the chair, and handed Sirius a clear liquid vial.

"Veritaserum just to make sure." Sirius nodded and willingly downed the vial, inapprehensive of its effects. His eyes took a glazed over look, which signified that it was working. "What's your name?"

"Sirius Black." Sirius answered, his voice wispy.

"Were you the Potter's secret keeper?" Harry prodded, getting right into the main question that needed to be answered.

"No, it was Peter Pettigrew." The reply was croaked out.

Harry bit his lip, wondering if there was anyway that Sirius would be able to bypass the potion. He knew there wasn't, for the man had been stewing in a dank, dark prison for twenty years—his powers ever so slowly evaporating all the while. "Did you kill 13 muggles, and 1 wizard?"

"No, Peter Pettigrew is alive, he killed the 13 muggles. I had nothing to do with it." Harry nodded solemnly, and gave the antidote to Sirius to drink.

When his eyes lost the glaze, Harry handed him another vial. "It's a strengthening potion." Harry told him, and again, the man nodded and downed it. "Go take a shower, and get dressed with some of my clothes; they should fit, though they might be a little big. I'll make you something to eat." Before Harry turned, Sirius engulfed him in a hug.

"I'm so sorry, Harry, for everything," He cried, knowing that he didn't deserve what Harry was doing for him. "I should have been there for you. And I thank you, for believing me, and for being willing to hear my side of the story. If I were in your position, I would have already killed me."

"It's all right, Sirius, we'll catch him together. But we'll do it my way this time, not yours, okay?" Sirius gave a small laugh, and walked into the bathroom to do what Harry said. After a half hour, a younger looking, gaunt Sirius Black walked into the kitchen wearing muggle clothes that Harry had left outside of the bathroom door. Harry was sitting at the table, drinking a butter beer, waiting for him to come in. They ate their mince pies in relative silence, broken first by Harry. "Eat up, full moon tonight." He told Sirius with a small grin.

"Remus?" Sirius questioned; Harry nodded and continued eating. "Are you? I mean, ah, anima..." He paused, trying to gather his thoughts. It had been so long since he had had a conversation, it was overwhelming.

Harry grinned, cracking his knuckles. "Of course, can't let Prongs be the only one in the family, can I?"

Sirius smiled in remembrance of his best friend's form, it was large and powerful, but yet still majestic and noble. "What form do you take?" He asked after finishing off his pie, his stomach filled to its maximum capacity.

"You'll see, I think you'll like it. Remus does after all." Sirius quietly nodded, while Harry went back to eating, grabbing a second pie from the cooling rack.

"So you're a Hit Wizard?" He asked Harry, interested in what kind of person his godson was.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Harry replied not realizing he was still wearing his blood red robes.

"Your robes." Sirius answered, gesturing to Harry's attire. "I recognized them from when I was being carted away." Black stated somberly, remembering that fateful day.

Seeing the pain in his godfather's eyes, Harry veered the conversation away. "We should get going if you want to explain everything to Remus." Sirius nodded and got up, while Harry walked over to the cabinet and picked up two vials. He pocketed them and walked over to the fireplace; he reached into his other pocket, and took out the wand that he had taken out of the cabinet before. He looked at the wand, and gave it over to Sirius, giving the man a small smile. "It was my father's. Dumbledore gave it to me the night of my graduation from Hogwarts. Use it until we can get you a new one after we clear your name." Then, he took a handful of silver floo powder and said "Lupin's Office." In a swirl of green flames, he was gone.

Sirius stood there looking at the wand in amazement. He was too shocked that Dumbledore had it to decline it, though he doubted he would have either way; it was nice to hold something that James once owned. He shook his head and watched as the flames dissipated, before reaching for the powder himself and leaving in a torrent of green flames.