The Past, the Present and the Future
Cliche: Sirius is rendered impotent due to his stay in Azkaban. Just mentioned as a possibility, with the obvious alternate solution to cliche trope used to introduce some girl as future Lady Black.
He abruptly changed the channels and increased the volume harshly. As expected, Harry rolled off his chair, and crouched onto the floor with his wand released.
"That's it. Pup, we need to talk," Sirius gravely ordered.
Harry knew the game was up as soon as Sirius had said that. He shakily stood up thinking about ways in which he could put off Sirius' questioning. After all, he would have to go up against a former Auror and a Marauder to boot.
"What's the matter Sirius?" Harry asked in what he hoped was an actual innocent questioning tone.
"Don't play dumb with me, Pup. If you are Harry at all, that is," he added as an afterthought.
"What do you mean?" asked Harry angrily. "Of course I am Harry, you git!"
"Are you really? You have almost Hit-Wizard like reflexes, you are hiding something, you have a look in your eyes that is seen in those who have seen quite a lot, you accepted me easily, you seem to be lost when I put in any anecdote from your baby stage- which you claimed you remember... have I missed out anything? Ah yes, you keep an odd watch on me, almost as if fearing I will go somewhere... the list is endless. Who are you, really? Why did you break me out of prison? What have you done to the real Harry?" By now Sirius had an almost feral growl for a voice and an extremely wild look in his eyes.
Harry raised his wand, causing Sirius to flinch, but Harry ignored that. "I, Hadrian James Potter, swear on my life and magic that I am who I claim to be. I am James and Lily Potters' son, Sirius Black's and Alice Longbottom's godson. I have no intention to hurt Sirius Black. So I say, so I swear!" He then created another Hamper. "Are you satisfied, Padfoot?"
"Are you a bloody idiot Prongslet? What did you take a magical Vow for?" Sirius asked, grabbing Harry by the shoulders.
"Well, at least you know now that I am Harry," replied Harry mulishly.
Sirius ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Look, Harry, I am impetuous, and more so after my stint in Azkaban. But I am unable to understand you. I was supposed to be your father after James, though I still wouldn't ever want his place. But now that I see you, I can't understand what I am supposed to be, with reference to you. I want to be the best godfather I can be now, but you are already too efficient on your own. I don't know where I stand anymore!"
Harry understood what was being said. Sirius doubted that Harry would need him. "Padfoot, listen to me. I'll always, and I mean always need you. I have an explanation for everything that you asked, but as of now, I have no means by which to convince you; unless of course, we can get our hands on a pensieve. What I have to tell you is quite literally, out of this world."
Sirius relaxed at Harry's first statement. He had sussed out what Sirius meant to say, just as Lily could. But he frowned at the rest of his missive. Why would Harry need to convince him? Sirius had started healing after his escape, and he could see that some things weighed just as heavily, or even worse on Harry. He needed to do what was expected from a good godfather. He needed to help Harry heal. "Pup, I can understand that you have much to reveal, and you are lost. Let me ask questions as I can think of them, and you answer me. Will that do?"
"I guess so," replied Harry pensively.
"Well, so here goes. What do you need a Pensieve for to convince me? Is there no other way? Why do you believe that I won't believe you?"
Sirius' second question resonated in Harry's mind. There was another way. "Padfoot, don't get angry, ok? I, Hadrian James Potter, swear on my life and magic, that what I shall tell him about the past, present and future is true, unless I am relaying my speculations, in which case I will clearly say so. By leave of my Reaper, I offer this knowledge to the one person that I trust the most, Sirius Orion Black, my godfather. So I say, so I swear!" He then raised his wand, and incanted, "Lumos!" to the correct, if blinding effect.
"Prongslet!" barked Sirius, "You've got to stop swearing Magical Oaths at the drop of a hat! Not only is it dangerous, it eventually challenges the magic itself if you just sprinkle oaths like salt over food!"
"Oh. I didn't know that, old man..." Harry started, but was quickly cut off by a growl from Sirius.
"Watch whom you call old, you impudent little whelp!"
"Please accept my apologies, O great and merciful Padfoot of the Marauders! You are the one and only, evergreen, ever young Lord of Pranks and general Tomfoolery..."
"Harry, stop that now. Come back to the matter at hand. What were you going to tell me that needed you swearing a Magical Oath?"
"Er, yes well, about that; I... er... I-I am or at least have memories from the future." He stammered first and then finished very quickly.
"O.K." replied Sirius, quite neutrally. He wasn't sure what to make of that, except for the fact that as Harry hadn't yet died- not something that he wanted- there was at least some grain of truth to this, at least as far as Harry was concerned.
"You aren't going to call me insane?" asked Harry.
"Well you aren't dead yet," Sirius noted helpfully.
"There is that. Well, then, hear me out. In that future, or the other timeline- let's call it O.T. for short- everything progressed normally up to this point, except for our interactions. In this timeline, Fudge came for the inspection early. You escaped around July end. Anyway, I never knew that the Weasleys' pet rat Scabbers was Peter. They won a lottery, and went off to Egypt. The Minister showed you the copy of Daily Prophet bearing their picture- and that of Scabbers on it. You realised that Pettigrew was at Hogwarts and escaped on your own. You travelled for two weeks and came here. In the O.T., I didn't garner the resources to buy the property as I have done now. Vernon Dursley's sister, Marge, visited, and was bad-mouthing mum and dad. I blew her up like a balloon and escaped from the house."
Harry barely got past a half of the summer corresponding to the one they were experiencing when Sirius interrupted with a massive guffaw. Evidently he had met Marge before, for he asked, "How in Merlin's name did that woman survive being even more blown up than she was?"
"May I continue?" Harry asked testily.
"Ye- yes, Oh Merlin!" Sirius chocked out as he tried to control his laughter.
When Sirius had calmed down sufficiently, his godson continued, "You were hiding around as Padfoot, probably to meet me. But when we came face to face, you scared me, and as I drew a wand to defend myself, I fell over and accidentally ended up calling the Knight Bus. Anyway, during my third year, Moony became the DADA teacher. He never really discussed either about you or mum and dad that year, probably because he was ordered by that old bastard. At the end of the year, you dragged away Ronald Weasley- who was my friend at that time, and who was holding Scabbers- and took him to the Shrieking Shack. There we confronted Wormtail, with Moony finding out about him from the Marauders' Map, which he confiscated from me during the year. We were all going to take him to Dumbledore. But coincidentally, it was a Full Moon Night, and Snivellus who had gone to Moony's quarters with the Wolfsbane Potion, saw the Map and came to the Shack, just before Peter had transformed. My friend Hermione Granger and I knocked him out."
"So you got my name cleared?"
"Won't it be better if you don't interrupt?" Harry scolded. "For the record, no. We couldn't do that. After the confrontation, we were leading out a shackled Wormtail to the school when Moony, who hadn't had his dose of the Potion transformed. In the ensuing confusion, Wormtail- whom we hadn't stunned- transformed and escaped. Hermione and I came back in time using her time turner to save you. We couldn't catch Wormtail. We set you free. In the O.T., the Dementors which were guarding the school attacked us. At that time, I had only one Patronus- only Prongs. My Patronus was strong enough to drive them all off. You escaped on a Hippogriff which had been condemned to Death."
There was a long protracted silence, which was eventually broken by Sirius breaking out into raucous laughter. "Oh, bloody hell! Prongslet! That's the best prank ever!"
"SIRIUS ORION BLACK, THIS IS NO LAUGHING MATTER! I AM TELLING YOU SOME EXTREMELY SERIOUS THINGS HERE! I NEED YOUR HELP, AND I AM TELLING YOU ALL THIS BECAUSE YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE I CAN TRUST TO GUIDE ME TO USE THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE FUTURE, AS IT HAPPENED!"
Sirius, in that moment, seriously appreciated the fact that the Pup was as much Lily's fawn as he was James' sprog. "I-I am sorry Prongslet. It's just that it seems so far-fetched, is all." He still had mirth in his eyes. Harry decided he needed to snap him out of that, and fast.
"I can see that my efforts at a linear narration are being wasted. Let me shock you first. Tell me Sirius, do you know what a Horcrux is?"
Every bit of humour died from Sirius' face as soon as Harry uttered that word. "How do you know about it?" he asked harshly.
"Well, hold patience now. I promise you, within three or four sentences, you are going to start raving and ranting in anger." At Harry's authoritative words, Sirius nodded sharply. "Well, I know about Horcruxes because in that timeline, I was on a mission to destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes. He had made, by then, including an accidental one, seven. That's of course to the best of my knowledge, which might be flawed."
"Excuse me for a bit." Sirius literally barged out of the room to throw up. When he returned, he looked very pale again. "You know, I should have talked about this before eating. He made seven? I take it they are still there?"
"Believing me now are you?"
"Prongslet, I am sorry. When you said it was a serious matter, I never dreamed of this." He shuddered violently.
"Well, I have one more, terrible surprise for you, old dog. You remember, I told you I had some side effects of the Killing Curse? Well the accidental Horcrux was my scar."
Harry immediately regretted telling Sirius this. Sirius, on hearing that, fainted. Harry revived him and helped him into a chair. He summoned Dobby, gave him a few galleons, and asked him to purchase a bottle of Firewhisky for Sirius. If ever Harry would understand Sirius getting sloshed, it would be then. "Your bloody scar was a receptacle of that?"
"Yes. And I got rid of it. Though the manner I tried that in the O.T. is how I, or my memories- I am not sure which- got here in the first place."
"What the hell do you mean?"
"Well in the O.T. I was on a yearlong hunt with Weasley and Hermione. Snivellus, on Dumbledore's orders had murdered him the year before. Dumbledore destroyed one, but was cursed in the process. I had, and have in this timeline, destroyed one Horcrux unwittingly at the end of my second year. We found another three, and had destroyed them. But we destroyed two during the Battle of Hogwarts. Snivellus was branded a traitor, but he was working for Dumbledore, apparently. He gave me his memories of Dumbledore telling him that I was a Horcrux too. Let me tell you this, before you berate me. In that timeline, I was a fool with no self-worth and dosed up to the gills with Love Potions and the like. We will come back to the Potions later. Anyway, I walked up to Voldemort, like the idiot that I was, and allowed him to kill me. In the place between the worlds, I met Dark Lord Dumbledore, who effectively told me that I could return as the Killing Curse only separated the Souls and as Voldemort's soul piece was gone, I could defy being AK-d again. That was when my Personal Grim Reaper intervened. She told me how the old bastard had manipulated my whole life, prepping me up as a sacrifice. I was supposed to, as I will now, bring the mundane and magical worlds closer through technology- I was to be a technomancer, with you reforming the political arena of magical Britain. And I was to marry my soul-mate, who was snatched away from me by the potions. She told me that I had the option of returning to the same time as I had died then- the midnight of May 2nd, 1998. The other option was returning to a point back in time to set things right, with my knowledge of the O.T. but without any academic knowledge- that was another thing that I massively bollixed then. Obviously, I chose the latter."
This led to Sirius doing something he hadn't done yet. He gathered up Harry, and held his godson, rocking him gently. Guilt racked Sirius all over again. He had not been with Harry even in his last moments. He felt like a failure.
"Pup, I've got two questions. Why wasn't I with you? AND WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WERE YOU THINKING, YOU ABSOLUTELY IDIOTIC LITTLE PRAT?"
Harry looked at him, and for the first time since he had met him again, Sirius saw despair in Harry's eyes. Harry couldn't contain himself. He just threw his arms around Sirius, and grieved - grieved, not cried, something that he still couldn't do - as he wanted to but couldn't when he had seen Sirius die. He had stewed alone in his isolation. Sirius had, by then, gotten a good idea what exactly happened, something that Harry confirmed as he mumbled, "Fifth year... prophecy... department of mysteries... passed through the Veil...didn't listen to Hermione...trap by Death Eaters"
When Harry finally calmed down, Sirius held him at an arm's length. It was then, in the vulnerability that Harry showed, that Sirius found his answer. He was to be a father, godfather, friend, elder brother, fun uncle, guide and mentor. He was to be everything for his Pup. "Let it all out, Pup. I am sorry I shouted, but this was beyond idiotic. And now go linearly. Tell me everything. I want to know how you have been."
Harry sat down, and then told Sirius everything about the Dursleys. He knew Sirius would get angry, and frankly, liked the fact that someone would and could get angry on his behalf. When he was done, Sirius was pacing and swearing like a sailor at the top of his voice. It seemed he wanted to smash something, but with nothing at hand he contented himself with pulling at his hair. When he finally calmed down enough, he asked Harry dangerously, "When do I get to kill them?"
"Calm down, old man. I have done worse things to them. Last time around, you had taught me a dementor curse for use in battles. I used it only once and never could again, in that timeline. I used it on them. Then I bought this house and have given Biggem, Goldhaul and Rubyclaw leave to destroy them financially. They have all become rather protective of me. Don't get angry- get even," he said with a hint of a grin.
"Damn! You sicced Goblins on them? Please tell me you didn't promise to pay them!"
"Alright, I won't tell you that," Harry rather nonchalantly replied.
Sirius held his head in his hands and then groaned comically. "Is it a bad sign if I don't really feel sorry for the Dursleys?"
"No!" They shared a laugh over that, more to diffuse the tension than anything else. Harry then continued with his story of the first year. He clarified that the facts would be from the point of view of the O.T. while his speculations would be from his or Cassiopeia's point of view. He told about the way the Dursleys had tried to stop him from going to Hogwarts. Harry had immediately taken a shining to the world of magic, and had thought of the people there as something quite akin to his heroes. He had thought of the Weasleys as a kindly family for taking a young orphan under their wing, and had immediately made friends with Ronald. He described the troll incident and his utter shame at being accomplice to the bullying. He narrated all the incidents as they happened, culminating in his defeat of wraith-Voldemort. He then speculated that it was all a test. The obstacles were designed as if to cater to first years. Sirius concurred with that. He told Sirius about Molly's show at King's Cross and how it now seemed an elaborate drama. Cassiopeia's speculation that they were probably doing their duty as Vassals was something Harry didn't truly agree with, though he had accepted it.
"You know, Pup, I think the whole matter is suspect. As an Auror, I can tell you that Molly's actions were worth sanctions. She was clearly breaching the Statute of Secrecy. Then again, why would she do that, unless she knew that someone would need that help? Hagrid might have not told you about the platform on Dumbledore's orders. He is your Vassal too. I remember James telling me about that. Was it some sort of conspiracy betwixt them? Nay, I know not, my child, but truth shall indeed see the light!"
"Bravo, bravo! Simply enchanting! I don't think it was. Put simply, Molly might have known that I knew nothing about my heritage, and so only wanted to do her duty as a Vassal. That is really one point that I don't know what to think. They are and were my friends, and it really makes me feel terrible to think any worse of them. And yet when I look at each of their actions cynically, I trust them lesser and lesser. Anyway, we will think about it later. Well the second year of both timelines is a much grimmer tale, godfather. When old Tommy boy was sixteen- that's fifty-one years ago- he opened the Chamber of Secrets."
"Hey I know that one. Aunt Dorea had told me about that. Some girl died. Her name was Miriam or Myrtle or something like that."
"Myrtle- her name was Myrtle Roberts. She was killed by the Monster in the Chamber." He summoned a piece of parchment and showed Sirius the Tom is Voldemort anagram. "That bastard was the son of a rich non-magical Tom Riddle and the squib daughter of the Most Insane and Most Inbred House of Gaunt. They were the last blood heirs of Salazar. So, anyway, Tom set this monster on the students and implicated Hagrid, of all people. Riddle got a Special Services to the school award. Anyway, that summer, he made his first Horcrux- a diary. He killed his father and grandparents that summer, but I am not sure whose death it was that he used. He gave that diary to Lucius Malfoy. Old Lucy wanted to bring Arthur Weasley and his Muggle Protection Act down, so he slipped that diary to the Weasley girl. I have to call her Ginny and all, but I trust her as far as I can throw Hagrid. The Horcrux possessed her, and got her to attack newbloods. She was finally made to go into the chamber by the part of Riddle in it. During the year, however, someone found out that I am a Parselmouth- which isn't entirely correct. I am a Beast Speaker."
"You are a-a Beast Speaker? Prongslet, don't you dare joke now! James was afraid that the Potter line was losing the gift!"
"I am, Padfoot. I gave enough evidence of that to Hagrid. Surely you can't discount that?"
"Damn!" swore Sirius, raking his hair with his hand. "Damn!" he swore again. "Harry, continue. I think I'll have too many questions later. Just tell me everything. This is becoming an extremely infuriating yet riveting tale for me."
"Huh? Oh. Well, when they found out that I am a Parselmouth, I was shunned, I was accused of being the Heir of Slytherin- which I am, incidentally- and no one ever spoke in my defence. Neville Longbottom and the Weasleys and Hermione were the only ones who truly believed me. The rest of the school came around, but not before Hermione was petrified. Truly, Sirius, I'd still say that I'd rather be hated than see Hermione that way."
Sirius noted that this Hermione had turned up again in the narrative, and he could see the same haunted look in Harry's eyes as he had seen in James' when a few Death Eaters had tried to... rough up Lily. He understood what wasn't being said. This was possibly a feisty girl who had taken Harry's heart. Sirius could have wagered that she fulfilled the four Bs of being the Lady Potter. Prongslet had gone a bit further and befriended her. He wasn't all like James, but he was a chip of the old block, after all. "Hey Pup! Continue now! Oh don't tell me you like this Hermione!" the former prisoner teased. He just wanted confirmation.
Harry blushed and looked away. "I probably did in the O.T. I certainly do now. I wasn't able to understand it then, more likely due to what those Dursleys did to me. But by the time I understood what the whole thing meant, you- you-" Harry broke down again, though only to uncomfortable bobs of the Adam's apple. When he had regained his composure, he continued tonelessly. "By the time I understood what it meant you died. I was going to ask you about it that summer. And then I was put back in Privet Prison. Then the Weasleys happened."
Sirius' face hardened at Harry's tone. More people had hurt his pup. They would pay. "What did they do?" he asked dangerously, pretty sure of what had happened.
"Molly Prewett, presumably, and her two little ones for sure, dosed us with Love Potions. We were, respectively with her children- I was with Ginevra and Hermione with Ronald. At least that is what my Reaper told me implicitly, though she never outright accused Molly. I haven't had any evidence, but I have been checking all my food all the time since I returned, surreptitiously."
"It runs in the Prewett family. It's one of the few things I ever agreed about with my unlamented mother. The Prewetts were really odd, all of them; well barring Fabian and Gideon. My mother said much more, but I am sure you can imagine that. You know, I think you should use this spell from the Black family Grimoire. Point your wand at my eyes and say, "Communico Memorias" as you think of all the years. I'll see the memories through your point of view. Lower your Occlumency shields if you have any."
Harry complied, and over the next hour and half he showed Sirius everything from the previous timeline in order. Both had agreed that a verbal transfer was tedious- they were being put off-track every now and then. Both had to sit facing each other during the process- it was very much like Legillimency, except here the caster willingly shared the memories with the subject, making it a voluntary process.
At the end of the whole time, Sirius just sat down in his chair and motioned for Harry to do the same. Sirius poured himself another glass of Firewhisky, and decided to allow his godson a sip too. In his totally unbiased opinion, Harry had won the right to do so. He had done his best in the face of severe impediments in his path by those who sought to control him. Harry had purposely not shown him anything of the year of the hunt. He wanted to be with Sirius when he would tell him about Regulus' heroics.
"You know, I can now understand why you hate Albus so much. You were simultaneously fighting two Dark Lords at once. Say what, kid, may I kill Albus, or do you have first dibs? And that bastard Snape- I want to kill him too!"
"I do. I can legally kill him. He is a treacherous Vassal. One Traitor's Judgement, and that's it. But I want to destroy him totally before that. He has to be painted as the ultimate Dark Lord. We can't do that before disposing off with Riddle and his minions. The public picture is such that Albus Dumbledore stands against the ways of Voldemort. Destroy him now, and we play into their hands. If we destroy Dumbledore along with Moldyshorts, we let him be an old war hero, but also make him relinquish his control. I can live with that, but I have a problem with the old man being remembered as a hero. As for Snape, I am open to any ideas for killing him. He was among those that murdered my paternal grandparents, told that Prophecy to Voldemort, and then, had the vile gall to slander my family and literally mind rape me!"
Sirius had gone white as a sheet. His great-aunt Dorea, who was James' mother, was the closest to a real mother that he'd ever known. Uncle Charlus was the person who inspired Sirius the most. Snivellus, who had already got Sirius after him for his hand in James' and Lily's death, as well as in his torture of Harry, was now a dead man walking. Snivellus and Albus Dumbledore were guilty of trying to kill the Potter family. And Sirius wouldn't let that happen.
"You can have Dumbledore. Snape is mine. I'LL KILL SNIVELLUS!" he roared. He bounded off as Padfoot to work off his rage. It was nearly an hour before he had calmed down enough to return. "Now, continue. We need to make plans for those two bastards. Do you have any?"
"You saw what happened at the end of the sixth year? The part I told you about- Snape's murder of Dumbledore? He was cursed by the Ring of the House of Gaunt. I suppose you know the story of The Three Brothers from The Tales of Beedle the Bard?"
"Yes. I've heard that load of old tosh-"
"Except that it isn't. It is true. Well the Master of Death part isn't but everything else is. I'll give you a hint. The third brother's second-last descendent was your best friend."
Sirius stared at Harry in confusion. He tried to remember the story. It was then that comprehension dawned on him. Connecting the dots quickly, Sirius blurted out, "NO BLOODY WAY!"
"Yes bloody way. I am the last Heir of Ignotus Peverell, the third brother, and that is the cloak." He revealed the Peverell Ring to his Godfather. "The Gaunt Ring contained the Resurrection Stone. The ring was a Horcrux. That is Dumbledore's weakest point. I plan to send Dumbledore after that ring, and then put up Anti-Apparition and Anti- Portkey wards around the place. Dumbledore holds the Elder wand. And that in itself is a terrifying thing. I intend to destroy it with Gryffindor's sword. And, I intend to blood-adopt one of your and Neville's sons. That way the power of the Peverell family will remain within our three families only."
"Splendid! With a small hitch though- I am not sure I can have any sprogs after my stay in Chateau de Azkaban."
"We can take the matter to a healer Padfoot, and if not, we can take you to non-magical endocrinologists. They are healers that deal with the functioning of glands and stuff. I truly trust the non-magical world more than I'd ever trust the magical world. Once we get you free, we can turn to that. Now leaving your ability to sire pups aside, I want your opinions, theories and anything you want to say about what I showed you- and exclusively about things I was directly involved in. I have some theories and speculations of my own to tell you about the magical world in general."
Sirius took a deep breath and looked at Harry intently, before launching into his rant. "Well you know what I think of that first year. The whole year, just about everything that happened was a bloody set-up. You sussed that out yourself. My first instinct is to say that I simply don't want you trusting any of the Weasleys. Neville and Hermione, yes; any Weasley is a big NO! But things aren't so cut and dried. If you visibly ditch them for something they did in the month of never in the yer of nada, from the perspective of everyone but us, it will become too obvious. Plus they are your vassals. So it would be better to simply use a wait and watch policy. If you assert your position, they will become wary of doing anything like that.
"The other thing is that you have not revived your family's alliance. I can't believe that I never told you that in the O.T. But then again, I didn't tell you a lot of things. I could have had the goblins help prove my innocence, as Gringotts is a free Nation. Amnesty and asylum there before being interrogated by the Ministry was the way to go; it was the best logic that could be applied. What is really criminal is that none of the Alliance members themselves introduced themselves to you. You were purposely kept out of the loop, but they weren't and could have and should have looked out for you. Even Neville is guilty of that. I'll teach you the politics and introduce you to the principles of the Alliance later, remind me to do that if I don't. Was it Dumbledore probably keeping them all away? Possibly," he said with a shrug. "What's worse is that for a world which apparently was idolising you, nobody asked for you. Why did they not ask about your safety when they were reading stories about you? You just floundered through the first year, simply on the basis of whatever you felt like doing instinctively. It's just plain wrong.
"I am going to reserve my words about the second and third year for later, because you have made quite a few changes. We need to discuss those before I pass any judgement. The Triwizard Tournament was as much a farce as your first year. How could Dumbledore honestly not know about either Quirrel or Crouch? Was he an accessory to them? I don't honestly know. Did he use the whole business as an opportunity to control both of us? Absolutely; I would say he jumped at the opportunity. He could have taken you out of the competition and at worst, given you a detention for the prank, simply because it is impossible to forge a magical signature of a person: it corresponds to the intrinsic magic. By participating against the Dragon, you confirmed your participation. Then there was the fact that the competition was only for adults. They had effectively declared you an adult. I can't believe I didn't advise you to do that. But then again, I was living in a cave and eating rats. But to think that neither Minerva, nor Moony, nor the Goblins did anything is infuriating. A possible explanation is that Gringotts owls were blocked, if they had taken any interest at all. They are surly buggers anyway - it'd be a nice sport for them to see floundering wizards and witches. But that doesn't let up Moony or Tabby."
Harry nodded grimly at that. It was his point of view as well.
Sirius was skittish as he brought up something else. "Now there's this other thing. Did you ever give off vibes that you... you know... that you also... er... batted for the home team?"
"What?" Harry was very much puzzled. But at Sirius' rather flushed and embarrassed face, Harry understood and paled as he shouted, "NO!"
"Well then why was Ron the one you would sorely miss? It would've been Hermione obviously. It's the same with the way Hermione was allowed to go to Hogsmeade, but you weren't. Again, she was alone with Ronald. And really, the fried chicken club had its headquarters at Grimmauld Place? You weren't given any counselling after facing Voldemort, again Hermione was made to be alone with Weasley, and you were isolated like you had a disease. She was made the prefect with him. It is conditioning of the highest order. Why did you accept the ginger's apology? He really never seemed to be your or her friend, did he?"
"I realised that when I was in the place... in between life and death. I was just looking for a way for a clean break. But you say that I must keep them around... Well, anyway, I must admit that I did a very opportunistic manoeuvre. He always insults Hermione every now and then. She is my Protectorate, so I am honour bound to protect her, even against a verbal attack," Harry said with a smirk.
Sirius blinked. Then he roared with laughter. "Oh Bloody Hell! That is one good prank, right there!" They shared another round of laughter. "I solemnly attest that henceforth, Harry, son of James, the Marauder Prongs be inducted into the Hallowed Halls of Fame, and is the first Heir to the Marauders to join the ranks.
"Well with that out of the way, I am appalled that Moony fell in with what Albus did," pointing out something that he already had. "We need to free me, before we can free Moony. I was going to bring this up later, but now with all the things you have shown me, including my own appalling behaviour then, I think I must share my own apprehensions. You know that I was an Auror don't you?"
"Yes I do. In fact obstruction of the work of an Auror was one of the charges I drew up to sue the Wizengamot. Wait a minute." He took out the notebook in which he had written the charges. Sirius cast it a glance and nodded.
"I'll check that later. Well, as I was setting up my shields, I realised something. My oaths as your Godfather would have superseded my oaths to Dumbledore. Why would I leave you with Hagrid of all people? When your safety was the main concern, why would I give you to somebody who can't use a wand? Whatever the situation, we had been trained to keep our head in any situation. In fact, we had simulations where we lost, or accidentally killed a team member or were ourselves dying. Why would I lose my mind then of all times? I was a well-trained Auror. I had taken down eighty six Death Eaters. Why and how did a mere clerk in the Department of Magical Transportation and Regulation get the better of me?" It truly puzzled Sirius.
"Extend this to your memories. Why, once we knew each other well, would I keep your heritage from you? Indeed, why didn't I approach Biggem? I showed a marked revulsion towards my family, but I never felt revulsion towards my duties as Lord presumptive. I fully intended to change the nature of my House. James, Frank and Edgar Bones and I had come to the conclusion that posturing as Dark or Light was pointless. At the end of the day, what mattered was whether you could bring home enough gold, fairly and legally, and without harming anyone else. Prejudice of any sort was Dark, is Dark. At the same time, just bandying about some godforsaken ideals and values which end up hurting you, doesn't make you Light- it makes you foolish. Why did I never tell you this? All I saw myself doing was hiding. Why didn't Dumbledore give me a trial under special dispensation as the Chief Warlock? How were three illegal animagi allowed inside the wards, without Dumbledore, as the Headmaster and therefore one of the Ward-masters, being notified? It reeks of something terribly foul, I tell you that. When you first contacted me, I wasn't sure why you seemed to despise Albus. Now I wholeheartedly share your views."
"Indeed. I would think that your death, after which he told me that thrice-damned Prophecy, and his own, were ways to guilt me into sacrificing somehow- to make me feel as if I had nothing to live."
"That's just what I was thinking. Then there were those infernal lessons. Let's just suffice it to say that he did nothing at all. He hindered you more than Voldemort did."
"Pretty much so," agreed Harry. "What bugs me heavily is this. He had proof that Voldemort had made more than one Horcrux in the second year itself. Had it not been so, there would have been some reaction from the Dark Mark. He had Snivellus as his little pet, who had told him that his mark was getting darker. That clearly told him that Voldemort was alive and that he had more Horcruxes. Why not start looking for them then? I remember reading in the Black Library while we were hiding at Grimmauld Place when we started the hunt that each Horcrux destroyed reduced the creator's power. Why waste time protecting a stupid prophecy when even two or three destroyed Horcruxes could have changed the tide of the war?"
"Quite true, that is. The actions were all downright inexplicable. And what was everyone doing, stunning, for Merlin's sake? A reductor curse, a bone-breaker or something along those lines to not kill but to put those shits out of commission was necessary. It was all an inept business. The whole war was fought very unprofessionally, in my opinion," groused Sirius.
"That it was, Padfoot."
They both sat pensively for some time. Harry understood what Sirius was driving at. He could point out the glaring flaws in his own actions. One way to explain it would be to say that in hindsight everything was obvious. But Harry stopped to think. In every case, he realised, Dumbledore was in contact with Sirius before they could talk. Was it another way of ensuring his compulsions and manipulations?
Sirius was seething. How much had the Pup endured? It was a miracle that he hadn't yet gone around the bend- or worse, become a Dark Lord himself. He felt irrationally ashamed that he had failed his godson dismally in the other timeline. "What have you changed?" he asked.
"Ah yes. I never told you that. Did I? Well first things first, I got that basilisk rendered and-"
"WHAT BASILISK?" Sirius' roar made Harry look at him questioningly.
"What do you mean by that? I showed you my memories, didn't I? What were you watching?" He repeated the whole of the second year for Sirius' benefit.
"You f-fought that? Are you serious?" stuttered Sirius.
"No, you are," smirked Harry.
"Shut up, Prongs... let!"
Harry understood what had happened. While Sirius had otherwise behaved with Harry as Harry and not as if he were James, the last comment brought up memories for him. Harry knew better than to pursue that. "Sorry, old dog."
Sirius massaged his temples and then the bridge of his nose as he fought to drive away the images still in his mind. Azkaban had made it difficult for him to retain things for a long time. "Why did you go alone? Wait, don't answer that. I saw what you did..."
"What? You aren't going to blow your top? No rants?"
"What difference will it make? You went and battled a Troll, a basilisk, a swarm of dementors, which you faced incidentally when you went back in time to save me, faced a dragon, battled Voldemort five times in person. Not exactly anything I can say, is there? So where were we? Yes. You got the basilisk rendered..."
"... and it fetched me seventeen and a half million galleons." Sirius whistled at that. Harry told him about the bequests, including the one for Moony. To say Sirius was impressed was an understatement. Harry really had used his money well. But he also had gone overboard a bit.
"You really shouldn't have given Moony that much. He will consider it charity. While it is in a way, you should've given him a tenth of that. Well, what's done is done. But all things considered, have you thought what to do about Moony? He was free. He has always had good relations with people, so he could have called in favours to find you and come meet you. He didn't." It all came back to the other true remaining Marauder. It was obvious. Harry was a baby, so he couldn't exactly be convinced. But Moony was supposed to believe Sirius, or at least hear him out. In the werewolf's defence, however, he was grieving for the man he thought to be the true Marauder.
"Yes. I considered that. I got him to apply for the DADA post again. He is too much under Dumbledore's thumb. I won't let him in easily. Will Dumbledore use him to get me on his side? I've no doubt that he'll. I'll let Moony in, only when he realises that things shouldn't be taken at face value. I'll help him on full moons, but I won't talk to him beyond that, at least not till you are free," Harry told him decisively.
And there spoke the kid. Sirius was the greatest and coolest person alive ever, to Harry. Or so the older man thought. "Isn't that a bit harsh? After all that Dumbledore did for Moony, I doubt he can go against the man," Sirius argued.
"Did Dumbledore really do anything for Moony, really? I don't think so. It reeks of opportunism."
"Huh? I don't understand."
"Tell me, how many werewolves are out there?"
"Best estimate I have is close to three to four hundred."
"How many of them are younger than Moony?"
"At least half of them must be."
"Why then was Moony the only werewolf, ever, to gain entry into Hogwarts?"
That brought an end to all of Sirius' arguments. "You d-don't think that Moony was groomed as a spy among the werewolves by Albus, do you?"
"There is no other explanation. Would it have been too much to have at least one werewolf each year? Why was Moony the only recipient of that benevolence?"
Sirius, after all that he had heard and seen, quickly came around to Harry's point of view. It was obvious. It was way too obvious. He started swearing colourfully, allowing Harry a glimpse at the hothead that Sirius had made his reputation as. When he finally calmed down, he said, "Why won't you free Moony first?"
"Why should I? Moony never tried to find me. He took to drink, instead of badgering Dumbledore. In my eyes, he has to earn his redemption. I gave him money only because he was Dad's and your friend. And also..." Harry stopped realising that he hadn't told Sirius about the year of the hunt.
"What, Harry?" Sirius asked, gently.
"He... well why don't I show you the last year?" He didn't wait for the answer, and just opened his mind to his godfather, contrary to his initial intention. This he played in something quite akin to slow motion. The images literally burned into Sirius. The fights against enemies, the fights between friends, Snape's memories, Moony and Tonks getting together, their deaths, Ted's death, the absolutely idiotic rescue operation for Harry, little Teddy being named Harry's godson, the yearlong tenure on the run, Weasley's betrayal, Bellatrix torturing Hermione, the trio breaking into Gringotts; the list went on and on. But it was Regulus' selfless act that brought tears to the eyes of the stoic Lord presumptive.
When it ended, Sirius realised why Harry had that look in his eyes. He had seen the things Harry had seen, and now couldn't truly understand how Harry remained sane. He engulfed Harry in a very fatherly hug. "Regulus... I thought he died a Death Eater. He did the right thing, in the end." He sunk his head into his hands. There wasn't much to say. Between Harry, Lily, James and Regulus, he had a family to be proud of. He may have lost two brothers and a woman who set him on the right path, but he still had one of them left to him. "I am sorry, my Pup. I failed you. I failed you when you needed me the most, by not being there to help. I was probably still remembering the Bella I remembered through my childhood, the one that wanted to be a Runic Mistress and the Head of Ravenclaw after Flitwick. How did she go mad? She killed me? And that left you to bear so many hardships. Forgive me Pup, please..."
"Shut up!" Harry hissed.
"Harry...?"
"I said shut up! You lost out in a battle. You did not put your love before me, Padfoot. You did not try and change your past. I killed my godson. I could have confronted Voldemort earlier, Padfoot. I killed them! I KILLED MOONY AND HIS WIFE! I KILLED MY GODSON, PADFOOT, JUST BY COMING BACK IN TIME! I AM THE MOST SELFISH, UNGRATEFUL BRAT THAT EVER EXISTED!" He sat on the floor, hugging his knees to his chest, as he lamented forlornly for the godson he had sworn to protect, for the son of Remus Lupin, whom he had abandoned in the future that never was.
Sirius saw the outburst for what it was. It was similar to what he himself had experienced when he had woken in Azkaban. He at least had the consolation that his Godson was alive, if not well. Harry had no chance to know whether or not his Godson even had a chance to be born at all. He hadn't killed anyone directly, but Teddy would hang heavily on Harry's conscience.
"Prongslet, what did your Reaper say? Don't try and affect the natural order of things. If the old wolf and our cousin are likely to get married again, I'll make sure that they name you the godfather to at least one of the cubs. So, don't worry. And you aren't being selfish. By coming back, you have ensured that so many people will live. We will make it right. We are in this together, son. I'll always be with you." He slung his arm around Harry and gave him a gentle squeeze, which Harry returned. Harry's doubts hadn't been resolved by any means, it was always going to be a case of work in progress.
"Pup, now that you have told me everything, I must give you a dose of my own paranoia. Firstly: Snivellus. I saw and observed as an Auror would. He was there for quite some time in the Shrieking Shack. He realised that it was Moony and I. He wanted to get us killed. He forgot the Wolfsbane Potion on purpose. Then during that Department of Mysteries fiasco, he clearly showed that he was fully Voldemort's little boy. What possessed you to fly Thestrals of all things to the Ministry? If you really wanted to do that, why not stun and bind Umbitch and her minions and use her own Floo? Don't tell me that you couldn't have done that- you fought Death Eaters, so their inept spawn would have been no big problem to deal with. You took roughly four hours to go there. How didn't a single Order member reach in time? Why was the Ministry so suspiciously deserted? There are so many things of importance stored in that place that someone is always on guard duty- several people, in fact. Death Eaters managed to reach in time; so that just goes to prove that they already knew that you had gone, or were going to the Ministry. It was only when the fight started that the Order arrived. Ergo, it was only when the fight started was the Order informed. That was Snivellus' work, no doubt.
"Then there is the point about the Taboo. I always called him Mouldy-shorts for a reason. The Taboo had been in effect in the first war. By saying Voldemort's name, many people might have felt that you were rubbing your survival in their face. Call him Riddle. Dumbledore was already setting you up to die or to be caught and killed that way. Weasel boy was telling you to respect the name. And that was right after he did whatever he did in Yaxley's office. He stopped you bloody every single time that either you tried using Voldemort's name, when you were not in Grimmauld Place. In effect, he didn't want to be caught. He betrayed you before the hunt, in a way. He left you when the picnic time on the hunt was over- that is, only after he left you without food. In fact he has been betraying you right from the start. Why was he somehow always getting in the way of your studies? If you even miraculously survived the final battle, you'd still have to rely on being Harry Potter. That is personality shaping at its worst.
"And I am disappointed. You never took Hermione's or in fact anyone's side when those Weasels bullied anyone. We never tested our prank stuff on innocent juniors. The twins are twisted. I want you to break away from those fakers as soon as you can.
"You need a real parent now, not Molly fucking Weasley. You had a mother. Her name was Lily Evans Potter. And your father was James Potter. What you have now is a godfather who has sworn to help you with the correct decisions. I'll advice, I'll suggest, but I won't decide for you. The Weasleys seemed to me to be closet pureblood bigots. Why else would they behave with the only muggles they know as if they were some sort of curiosities in a museum? Then there was the fact that little Weasel knew about the Dragons, and let you go in without knowing about it. He is a traitor, plain and simple."
Each word from Sirius was impaling itself in Harry's consciousness, causing him further pain. He really couldn't trust these people. He could understand where Sirius was coming from, and was rather grateful for that. Here was real, hard, father and son talk that Harry needed.
Sirius wasn't even done however. "Then there is that girl. She called Luna, Loony. That was in spite of literally growing up with her. She called the poor Fleur girl names. I'd say she is a vindictive bitch, but well you're a pup, so I won't. As I said before, my first instinct is to ask you to stay away from every bloody single Weasley! But you'll be better served if you keep them where you can see them."
"You know Padfoot, I can't call you Dad, but you are supposed to be that for me in every other way. I never had it this way before you know!" Harry told Sirius, hugging his godfather again.
They sat like that for a long time. Sirius could feel the tension slowly leaving Harry. Now was the time to be godfather and fun uncle simultaneously. "Say, Pup, your memories were there, all and well, but I never saw anyone give you 'The Talk'. Now as you need a wife for each line, it is necessary. As your godfather, I believe the responsibility falls to me, particularly now that you have set your sights on a girl..."
He didn't have time to complete, as Harry froze, then transformed and bolted. Sirius smiled deviously. He quickly followed suit and chased after his Pup. Merlin knew the kid needed to loosen up a bit.
Just as Harry had shared his life story with Sirius, giving the older man a proper peek into the inscrutable mind of his godson, Sirius too had returned the favour. For every instance of abuse by the Dursleys, there were the actions of Walburga Black. He had known the woman only as a demented portrait. Sirius had had the misfortune of her living company for eleven years of his life. Her madness, which had permeated into her due to inbreeding, just as it had into the Gaunts, had extended to using the Cruciatus on Sirius. His father was a distant person, as was expected of all pureblood Heads of families. He had attempted to protect his sons, but it was too little, and quite often, too late. What had really surprised him was Bellatrix. She had been extremely protective of Sirius. Even when he had been sorted into Gryffindor, she had helped him on the sly- after all, a Ravenclaw and a Gryffindor meeting up wasn't frowned upon. She was an intriguing study of contrasts. The year after her NEWTs, the year after Sirius' third, a very terrible change came over her. Harry wasn't sure what to make of that. Was it just a coincidence that she had been married to Lestrange just a week prior?
His friendship with James, Remus and Peter brought out Sirius from his shell. He hadn't been repressed like Neville, but he had been drifting directionless for his entire childhood, aggravating his mother with blatant rebellion. When he had achieved the pinnacle of the same by getting sorted into Gryffindor, he had plain broken free of the binds of the 'Dark family' ideals. Harry had only seen his father targeting Snape on the train itself. What Snape hadn't shown was the fact that when James had offered to help Lily with her trunk, Snape had displayed a blatantly possessive streak, and had been very rude to James. He had then gone on to make not a few uncharitable remarks about James to Lily. All through their Hogwarts career, Snape had been in the group of thugs that had gone on to be the cruelest Death Eaters. He had been something quite akin to Piers, Dudley's friend. He was the kind to stay in the background and play sneak attacks, and plan retribution. Even the confrontation after the OWLs had been brought on by an attack on a younger Gryffindor girl.
It disgusted Harry. Even as he lay dying, Snape had lied. The spell that Sirius and Harry had used prevented fabrication of memories. Yet, were they all not true, Harry would still have believed Sirius and Remus over Snivellus any day of the week and twice on Sundays. Any doubts that Harry might have harboured regarding the fate of Severus Snape had crashed and burned. He was a Death Eater, and as such was just a creature that needed to be put to death. He knew that his mother would have never forgiven Snape. He was a person who felt immense joy in the suffering of others. He was just as sadistic a monster as Voldemort.
The open channel between the two had led to several barriers falling. They seemed dead on their feet when they were finally done. Sirius decided to teach Harry several physical feature changing spells. Sirius had instantly got a green Mohawk and big handlebars along with hazel eyes for his efforts. They had gone fine dining with Sirius getting several disapproving looks and glares. Both were under the impression that such antics would lighten the other's heart, and that made them both happier.
The day had ended on a sour note, however. Sirius had become extremely agitated, and had started getting violent, in the absence of alcohol. It had scared Harry quite a lot, reminding him of Vernon. Harry simply stunned Sirius, put him to bed, and shrank away. The next day, he had to eat burnt toast, underdone bacon and a rather dismal set of scones, which comprised of Sirius' apology.
Thereafter, they actually worked together to do the house up as they liked it. Harry had to hand it to Sirius. When he didn't need to rebel, Sirius was rather tasteful. He procured several Arsenal posters and was about to put them up with permanent sticking charms, but Harry cautioned that it would be a bad idea if a player decided to transfer to another team. Harry didn't know about this fixation with football however.
"I blame Lily for that. Her father was a rather rabid Spurs fan, and they lived up Seven Sisters Road before they moved to Birmingham. She was so bugged by his incessant Spurs madness that she rebelled as an eleven year old by supporting Arsenal. As luck would have it, Arsenal won the League and Cup double in 1971, the year we started Hogwarts. She was hooked, and naturally, your father, who fell for her charms, immediately got hooked too. The rest of us behaved like good little minions and followed his lead. But we actually supported the club. James had plans to move to Islington if he lived through the war. I remember he had bought a small home there, just a little way from the stadium and also near enough to my place. Sadly that didn't happen," Sirius reminisced.
For Harry, it was another link to his parents, though he had never expected it to be football. It was amusing to know their non-magical interests. But even beyond that he could understand Sirius' frustration the last time around even more. With Grimmauld Place situated right in the Borough of Islington, not being able to go to something where he could connect with the happiest time of his life, and having to sit around feeling useless must have grated on his nerves. Harry understood another facet of Sirius.