9:00 AM
Sirius Black knew he shouldn't be in Hogsmeade. It was beyond asinine, even for him. Yet, he couldn't help but come to the place that held so many good memories for him. As he walked past Zonko's Joke Shop, he could hear James Potter's laughter, and for a moment he was sixteen again. He could see himself running backwards passed Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop in an attempt to impress the cute girl who sat behind him in Potions. For just a moment, he felt like the person he was before he had spent twelve years in Azkaban.
An older couple with an infant walked passed him and he pulled his cloak around his face. His stomach rumbled, and he did his best to ignore the hunger cramps that got worse when the smell of warm bread filled the autumn air. He felt in his pocket for the galleon he had found on the ground earlier and began an internal debate on whether or not he could get away with buying a slice of bread without being recognized.
"Be smart old dog," he muttered as he flipped the galleon around with his thin fingers.
A loud yell pierced his ears, and he swore. He thought he had been recognized before dozens of pops sounded. Death Eaters appeared and Sirius ducked behind a bench as he fumbled for his wand.
"Fuck," he muttered, as he cast a shield and stood up.
"Bombarda!" Sirius yelled. The Death Eater he had been aiming for flicked it aside as if it were a mere flee.
Sirius hadn't cast any substantial spells in twelve years, so his spells weren't nearly as powerful as before, but he attempted to get the Death Eaters to move back. He saw civilians run out of shops, as glass rained down on them, before disapparating. He ignored the stench of blood as he jumped over the crumpled body of a man he knew was an auror because of his red robes. He stumbled as a powerful curse obliterated his shield before managing to move out of the way of a killing curse. Sirius knew that he would've been dead, but thankfully he used to have amazing reflexes, and even though Azkaban had slowed them down he wasn't too slow.
His brain was telling him to flee before more aurors came and he was recognized, but the part of him that had been both an auror and a member of the Order of the Phoenix wouldn't let him. He ran towards Honeyduke's after a small group of Death Eaters. Two went into Honeyduke's while the third stayed out front. He saw a young looking auror approach him. He ignored his aching muscles, that were screaming at him for overtaxing himself, as he moved slowly forward.
Sirius saw the auror fly through the air, and watched as the Death Eater tilted his head to the side while spinning his wand between his fingers. Sirius' eyes narrowed. He recognized those unconscious movements — Rabastan. Sirius saw Rabastan raise his wand and Sirius summoned a nearby stone gargoyle.
"Avada Kedavra!" Rabastan yelled.
The stone gargoyle flew in front of the fallen auror just in time to stop the killing curse. Sirius ran towards the young man as stone shards went flying in every direction. As he ran towards the young auror, someone yelled "Morsmordre," and Rabastan disapparated, along with the other Death Eaters.
Sirius ran towards the fallen auror, and reached him just as his eyes fluttered shut.
"Are you ok?" A gruff voiced asked.
Alexander's eyes shot open and he looked into the face of Sirius Black. He felt himself stiffen as the haggard man stared worriedly at him. The look of confusion, instead of homicidal rage that he would've expected to see in the face of Sirius Black confused him.
"Are you ok?" Sirius repeated.
Alexander swallowed thickly, he could taste blood. "Y-yes." His eyes took in the man's appearance, and he froze upon seeing the grey raggedy cloak that he was wearing. "You s-saved me." Alexander could barely form the words.
Sirius gave him an indecipherable look. It was odd, Alexander thought that he would see nothing in his dark eyes, but there was intelligence and something that looked like a mix of sadness and hope. How there could be anything in Sirius' eyes after twelve years surrounded by dementors he didn't know.
"Over here!" James yelled.
Sirius' head shot up, as James and half a dozen other aurors appeared. Two of the aurors stopped dead upon seeing Sirius, and James' pale face turned ghostly white, his color looking eerily similar to the masks of the Death Eaters.
"Damn it," Sirius muttered, as he shot to his feet.
Alexander didn't know how it happened, all he saw was Sirius shoot to his feet and then crumple to the ground. He looked towards his fellow aurors and saw Kingsley Shacklebolt standing with his wand pointing towards where Sirius had stood. A look of angry calm was on the aurors face. Kingsley walked towards Sirius, and Alexander didn't know why but he felt panic. Sirius didn't seem at all like the psychopathic mass murderer he thought he would be.
James ran over to Alexander and yelled, "We need a healer over here, now!"
"Wait," Alexander said. He coughed up blood as he tried to sit up. "He s-saved me. Sirius Black saved m-me."
"What are you talking about?" James asked incredulously. Blood was slowly dripping down the side of James' head, and sweat had caked his blood hair to his forehead. "You must have hit your head. A healer will be here soon, we don't want to move you in case your back was injured."
"N-no," Alexander said more forcefully. "He saved me."
Kingsley held up a hand when James attempted to protest. "Sirius Black is a fugitive. I will personally escort him to the Ministry of Magic. There he will be questioned, and we will see exactly what he did here today."
"Auror Shacklebolt," James said. "Surely, he should be immediately sent back to Azkaban."
Kingsley's face hardened, and in that moment he appeared to have been carved out of onyx. "I am to take him to the Ministry of Magic. This order came from Amelia Bones herself. Unless you think you have more authority than the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement?"
"Of course not, sir," James said quickly.
Alexander watched as his partners cheeks burned red, while Kingsley disappeared with the most wanted man in the wizarding world. He couldn't help but wonder why Sirius Black had saved him. The man was a mass murderer, so why would he care about saving the life of a man he didn't know?