Hi guys!
I'm so glad most of you enjoyed the last chapter! It's always so much fun to read through your reviews and it really pushes me to keep on writing the next chapter!
Anyway, life's getting busy again as the new schoolyear is coming close to starting... Just looking through my reading list for the coming term is enough to make me want to crawl under the covers and pretend it isn't there. Sadly, that's not an option, so that means that updates might take a little longer than they have up till now! Please bear with me, I'll try to update as soon as I can, but just saying that real life might come in the way of weekly updates.
With that said and out of the way, let the chapter begin!
'Godfather'. The word resounded in Harry's brain and he was left standing where he was, unable to form any other thought than the fact that he had someone out there who was family, someone who had probably known his parents. But then he remembered Lucius' remark about Azkaban. During his tutoring by the Malfoy patriarch, Lucius had told him about the Wizarding prison and the creatures guarding it. Just the brief and calculated phrasing Lucius had used when talking about it had given Harry chills. And now someone who was claiming to be his godfather had been released from that place? If he was released, than that would mean he had been a prisoner. Worriedly, Harry wondered what the man had done to deserve being subjected to the horrors of the dementors.
Harry was roused from his thoughts when Voldemort growled in annoyance. The sound seemed so foreign to this handsome young man that Harry was suddenly reminded of who this wizard really was. The nice exterior was simply a disguise, a way of hiding from the other guests at Lucius' ball.
"I reckon we will have to talk to the man, then." Voldemort fumed and, with a sudden turn towards Harry with his hand outstretched as if he expected Harry to grab it, raised his eyebrows at the boy. "There is no reason to deny the man his wish. He said he wanted to meet you. Well, I won't stand in the way of that. However." And here his red eyes seemed to darken to an almost black colour "he will do no more than meet you. I know Dumbledore well enough to know that the old codger has something planned with this."
Harry, still very much in a state of hazy confusion, chose to ignore Voldemort's hand and instead walked past him towards Lucius. Voldemort didn't seem to mind too much, however, and followed the two of them down the hallway.
"How much do you know, Lucius? Did Dumbledore send him for a specific purpose or did Black act on his own accord? He always was the impulsive type."
"My Lord, Black seems to have acted based on personal objectives this time, but as Dumbledore was the one who managed to get him released from Azkaban we can't overlook the possibility of the headmaster being the one to pull the strings. Black's way of looking at the world is too single-minded to recognize when he is being used and I suspect that might be the case this time." Lucius said thoughtfully as he quickly walked past the row of portraits on the walls, ignoring the few who tried to ask him what was going on.
It had taken some time to let it all sink in, but now Harry had overcome the initial shock of discovering that he had a person, a living person, who was considered family. His godfather was alive and currently in this building. Determinedly, he turned to Voldemort.
"Is this Sirius Black truly my godfather? Why didn't he contact me during the eleven years I spend at the Dursley's and what did he do to be imprisoned in Azkaban? Also, why does Dumbledore still have the authority to release prisoners? I thought he was thrown out of good society and generally frowned upon in the Ministry."
The Dark Lord held up a hand to stop the onslaught of questions and shook his head, though with an amused twitch of the corners of his lips. "One question at a time, Harry. Yes, Sirius Black is your godfather. He was James Potter's best friend and the two of them were always together while at school. After they graduated, they both became aurors, determined to rid the world of my cause and me. Of course, they were both firmly on Dumbledore's side after years of being brainwashed by that meddling old fool." The last sentence was spat out as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. "The reason Sirius Black was imprisoned was because he was framed for the act of betraying your parents. The Secret Keeper of their house was changed at the last minute from Sirius Black to Peter Pettigrew, a snivelling little man who is rather too hasty to abandon all bonds of loyalty if he can sense that he can gain something from it. To make a long story short, Pettigrew told me the location of your parents' house. Black, knowing what must have happened, ran after him and finally cornered him on a busy street in Muggle London. Pettigrew staged his own death, leaving his own finger and a shell-shocked Sirius Black. So the reason why Black didn't try to find you during all those years was because he was imprisoned in Azkaban, charged of the betrayal of his friends, your parents, as well as Peter Pettigrew. Most people in the Wizarding world think he is one of my most devoted Death Eaters."
This whole explanation was given in a detached manner and spoken quickly, like one who had told the same story several times in the past. However, Harry was shocked to find out that a man had been falsely imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. He shivered involuntarily when he thought of how it must have felt to have everyone around you think that you were the cause of the death of your best friends. It would drive anyone mad.
While they had been talking, they had reached the door to Lucius' study and all of them stopped outside of it. Lucius sent one questioning glance at Voldemort, who nodded, and then the blond opened the door.
The man sitting in the comfortable armchair in front of Lucius' fireplace was thin and haggard, with black hair that reached his shoulders in unkempt, dishevelled locks. He was covered in a wide selection of different coloured clothes, which were all in various stages of disintegration. It was quite obvious that he had wasted no time in going directly to find Harry. But what really was the most striking aspect of Sirius Black was his face. Despite his ragged appearance, his eyes were black and steely, with no trace of madness in them. A narrow, rather emaciated, face seemed to highlight these eyes and made them all the more penetrating. Now these eyes were turned in Harry's direction and they locked with his own green ones. Neither of them said anything, until Sirius, with what sounded more like a whimper than a word, broke the silence.
"Harry?"
Without thinking, without caring about the other two men in the room, Harry quickly strode across the floor and hugged Sirius, who seemed just as shocked as Voldemort and Lucius were. But then tears started forming in his eyes and he wrapped his arms tightly around the lithe form of his godson.
"Finally, finally! Merlin, how I've longed to see you! All those years in Azkaban, just the thought of seeing you, helping you, made me grit my teeth and withstand that hellhole." Now the tears were freely streaming down his face and Harry couldn't help but feel an intense protectiveness for this man that he had just met. The moment was quickly broken when Lucius spoke up.
"Now, Black. You got what you wanted. Now tell us who sent you and what your objective is. I highly doubt that you only wanted to see Harry and then would leave quietly afterwards."
Harry released his godfather, but stood close to the chair, as Sirius had seemed quite distressed when he started walking towards Voldemort and Lucius again. Voldemort frowned at this, but refrained from commenting on it.
"What is it to you, Malfoy, if I want to see my godson? I'm his family, he deserves to live with someone who's known him since he was born and who loves him." Sirius snarled and Harry briefly mused at how much the man looked like an angry dog, with his teeth bared and eyes flashing in anger.
Lucius wasn't fazed by this and chose to eye Black with a stare that seemed to say 'I really can't be bothered with your childish antics, but I'll humour you for now'.
"You seem to be slightly confused as to how the laws work in our society, Black. You are a convicted criminal and thus, you have lost any legal claim you may have had to young Mr Potter. The Wizengamot has recognized me as Harry's legal guardian and, as such, his place is at Malfoy Manor, not in the clutches of Dumbledore."
Sirius sprang to his feet and reached for Harry, who instinctively shrank back from the man's arms. The look of hurt on his godfather's face made him instantly regret his move, but Harry didn't move from the spot he was now standing in. 'I don't know this man. For all I know, Lucius is right and Sirius Black is just a man who Dumbledore is using for his purposes. Dumbledore has already proved that he is untrustworthy, cunning and a liar. Though I'm not going to join the Dark Side without some more reflection, I certainly won't go back to that old man.' Harry thought and a question that had been, up to that point, uncertain, was suddenly clear in his mind. Dumbledore had had his chance and misused it. Now Harry was willing to listen to what the other side would offer and though he wasn't going to just submit to Voldemort's every whim and idea of how he was going to behave and live, he would give them the same chance that he had given the headmaster. As such, if Sirius Black worked with Albus Dumbledore, then Harry would want nothing to do with him until the man changed alliances or distanced himself from that old meddler.
Happy with having made a decision, Harry stepped in between Lucius and Sirius, who now looked ready to throttle the stoic blond.
"I think I should be the one to have the last say in this matter." He said quietly. "I know I'm underage and only a child, but even a child has some idea of what he wants."
"But Harry-" Sirius started, but Harry glared at him which made him shut his mouth quickly.
"No buts. Sirius, I'm truly happy to have discovered I have a godfather. Truly, I am! But I will not go back to Dumbledore's side. That old man has proven without doubt that he does not have my best interests at heart. He lied to me, stole from me and forced me to live with people who couldn't stand the sight of me and made it quite clear that I was not admitted into their 'family', despite our blood relation." Harry had surprised himself by this little speech, it wasn't like him to talk about his past in this way, but his suppressed anger towards the headmaster had started to well up in him and he found himself unable to quench it.
Sirius looked confused at first, but then his eyes narrowed. "What do you mean Dumbledore stole from you?"
The question took Harry by surprise and when he glanced over at Lucius and Voldemort, it seemed that they were also slightly taken aback by the fact that Sirius still didn't seem to know what had been going on with his trusted headmaster. Voldemort stepped forward from the wall he had been leaning against when listening to the conversation between his fiancée and Black and spoke up.
"It should perhaps not come as a surprise to us that you are still ignorant as to what has happened in the Wizarding world during your imprisonment, Black. I hate to break it to you" he said with a tone heavily laced with sarcasm "but headmaster Dumbledore has been removed from his seat in the Wizengamot and is in general disgrace because an investigation into Harry Potter's bank accounts and living arrangements revealed that the headmaster has been steadily stealing from Harry's vault and also paying his relatives to provide him with a roof over his head. Not to mention all the times he has deliberately hidden the truth from Harry when he was questioned." The Dark Lord offhandedly added.
For the first time, Sirius seemed to become aware of the handsome man standing next to Lucius and he frowned.
"Who are you? I can't remember having seen you before. I can hardly see why this matter should concern you." His tone was rather cruel, Harry thought and he opened his mouth to berate Sirius for this rude behaviour towards a man he met for the first time, at least in this disguise, but Voldemort raised a hand to stop him.
"You may not have seen me in this form before, but trust me, we have met before." He said silkily and Sirius' eyes narrowed further, suspicion creeping into them as he carefully took in every detail of the man in front of him.
"And regarding your idea that I have nothing to do with Harry… Nothing could be further from the truth. Rather, what happens to Harry concerns me a great deal." While speaking, he walked over to where Harry was standing and draped an arm around the boy's shoulders, while the fingers on his other hand played with some of the black, unruly tresses of hair.
"There is no reason to tease him. And stop playing with my hair." Harry angrily grumbled and ducked out of the man's half-embrace. Having the man be so possessive of him in front of his godfather made him very uncomfortable and he still hadn't consented to this whole marrying business anyway. Voldemort seemed to find Harry's reaction amusing, as he only raised his eyebrows and chuckled.
However, sudden realization had appeared in Sirius' eyes and the expression on his face went from slightly confused suspicion to pure rage.
"Don't you dare touch him, Voldemort!" he screamed and lunged for the red-eyed man, who simply flicked his wand, resulting in Sirius flying across the room and hitting the opposite wall with a loud crunch.
"I do whatever I want to, Black. You will do well in remembering that. As to Harry, I am his fiancée and as such, I have a much larger claim to him than you will ever have." Voldemort had been walking slowly towards Sirius with his wand pointing steadily at the man, who groaned and tried to sit up. However, Voldemort's words caused a torn and rather confused expression to appear on Sirius' face, his eyes immediately darting towards Harry.
"What do you mean? Fiancée? There's no way that can be true! James and Lily never signed that contract!" The tone of his voice grew more frantic and panicked as he spoke and it seemed like the shock and subsequent rage he felt at this piece of news gave him the power he needed to stand up.
"That is correct, Harry's parents unfortunately chose to disregard a union which would be advantageous to the whole of Wizarding society and decided that they would continue to place their trust in an old man who never once saw them as anything other than disposable chess pieces." Harry could almost feel the suppressed annoyance Voldemort was feeling, but he didn't outwardly show any sign of this, except a slight narrowing of his eyes.
Sirius opened his mouth as if to triumphantly point out that Voldemort had no claim to Harry after all and that the man had denied this himself, but Lucius stepped forward and interrupted him.
"As Harry's legal guardian, I am also in such a position as to decide on matters concerning Harry. That includes his economy, his education, his upbringing – and refusing or accepting any possible marriage proposals. I have, on behalf of Harry, signed the marriage proposal that the Dark Lord has offered as it is the only way of ending the war without bloodshed or loss of lives on either side. In short, it is a marriage proposal as much as it is an offer of peace to the Wizarding world. With no offence to Harry" Lucius sent Harry a quick, reassuring glance "the Potters were too wrapped in the web of lies spun around them by Dumbledore to realize the potential of such a union."
This seemed to be all too much for Sirius, as he staggered a little and had to support himself by keeping one hand against the wall, but he quickly regained his former energy.
"I don't care what you think you might have the 'legal right' to do, Malfoy, but Harry is my godson and I decide in this matter!" He strode towards Harry as if to protect him from the two other men in the room or whisk him away, but Harry had finally gotten enough. With a firm glare at all of the men in the room, he crossed his arms over his chest.
"No, Sirius. You don't decide over me. Neither does Lucius. I decide what I want to do, especially when that choice will directly impact my future. I have never said whether or not I approve of this marriage contract" Voldemort's face seemed to darken as he spoke, but Harry's next words prevented what would've inevitably been a rather ugly scene.
"However, I will not go back to Dumbledore's side. That man has, as I said before, proven himself to be only interested in his own goals and will use any means necessary to reach those goals. Though that is quite similar to what Voldemort does, Dumbledore has chosen to lie and hide the facts while trying to portray himself as a wise grandfather. At least Voldemort is honest about his goals and means of reaching them." As he spoke, Harry had begun pacing back and forth, trying to order his thoughts as he went on. This was the moment when he would have to reach a decision, to stop avoiding the facts and rather face whatever would come with a clear and firm mind.
"On the other hand, I will not automatically join Voldemort's side. For now, I remain neutral. I will watch from the side-lines and choose for myself when I have seen enough to form an educated decision. I will remain here at Malfoy Manor, as the Malfoy family has graciously adopted me and for that I am grateful. From now on, I am my own person, not to be moved about on the chessboard as I have previously been used. I promise that I will make it clear to all when I have reached my decision, but until that point I want to be removed from whatever political game you might be playing."
The last sentence was directed mostly towards Lucius and Voldemort and Harry was both elated and quite nervous about his bold declaration of neutrality. Hell, for all he knew, Lucius could have the legal right to ignore whatever wish he had and just go on with his own schemes. To his surprise, however, Voldemort only smirked and a flicker of approval danced in his red eyes.
"So the little lion has finally bared his fangs? Very well, I see no problem with this arrangement. If that is what you wish, Harry, then I won't stand in your way. However" and here his eyes returned to the piercing stare they usually had "I won't give you an indefinite amount of time to reach a decision. You will have to take a stand before you become of age."
This liberality surprised Harry more than he cared to admit and he could only nod dumbly. While Harry had been talking, Sirius had been quite, but now he again spoke up, although with a completely different tone of voice.
"You're willing to throw away what your parents died fighting for, to potentially join the side that they dedicated their lives to defeat?" his voice was cold, but there was also a deeply hurt look in his eyes that cut Harry like a knife.
With a frustrated growl, Sirius turned on his heel and pushed past both Voldemort and Lucius. Stopping at the door, he turned around and shot a dark look towards Harry.
"I cared only for one thing these past twelve years in Azkaban and that was to finally see you again. Now I've found you, but it seems like I could've just stayed in Azkaban. At least I could've spared myself the pain of seeing Lily and James' son grow up to become a sympathizer of the Dark side." With that, he slipped through the door and Harry was left standing there, hand outstretched as if to stop his godfather from leaving and a barely audible whisper still lingering on his lips, never being able to form the words to stop the one true family he had finally found and just as quickly lost.
Aaaaaah! Sirius left! What will our darling Boy-Who-Lived do now?
Hope you liked the chapter, I'm thinking of trying to make Harry and Voldemort build a sort of friendship in the coming chapters, but before they can do that, there's a lot of tension and anger that needs to be vented. So what I'm saying is, there might be some angst coming your way! Better be prepared for it!
