Everything is Relative
by Teddylonglong
All recognizable Harry Potter characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story. I am merely borrowing the characters to play with them.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.
Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC.
Minerva McGonagall, Transfiguration professor, head of Gryffindor and deputy headmistress at Hogwarts, frowned upon entering the headmaster's office. The same faint ringing sound, which she had already heard some days ago, still sounded from one of the glass devices on the bookshelf. "Albus, that device of yours is still giving out that alarm," she said, accusingly. "Are you sure that Harry will be all right, now that he's back at his relatives' house?"
"Of course, my dear," the headmaster replied, sighing. "I've already sent Severus and Arabella to check on the house during the last few days, and they both reported that everything was all right."
"So that means your device is faulty?" Minerva enquired in a crisp voice, glaring at the old wizard.
"Apparently yes, but the other devices work, and I'm absolutely sure that Harry is all right," Albus replied, matter-of-factly, as he continued to caress Fawkes' crown feathers, seemingly deep in thought.
'He doesn't care at all,' Minerva thought, grimly, and decided to pay the Dursley residence a visit in her tabby cat form at the next opportunity.
"As to why I've called you here," Albus changed the topic, "is that Cornelius Fudge insists to send his under secretary as the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor for the new school year."
"His… what?" Minerva blurted out in horror. "Dolores Umbridge? Albus, you can't mean that. Don't tell me that you accepted that."
Albus helplessly shook his head. "I'm sorry, Minerva, but there's nothing that I can do about it. I guess she can't be so bad as a professor."
Minerva let out a scoff, thinking to herself that the old wizard had to be slowly losing his marbles.
"Just think about it and reconsider if you want to comfortably continue working and living at Hogwarts like we did during the last decade," she advised him, before she took her leave, heading straight out onto the grounds to walk to Hogsmeade.
As soon as she reached the apparition border, she apparated right into Arabella Figg's back garden.
'Thank Merlin, Arabella isn't here. I'm not really in the mood to talk about cats,' she thought, as she swiftly transformed into her feline form and dashed around the house and out into the street.
She made her way towards the Dursley residence – a path, which she had travelled in her tabby cat form countless times, when she had spent days or even weekends on the Dursleys' garden wall to keep an eye on little Harry. However, she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.
'Where's the house?' she thought, incredulously. 'It's simply gone. Almost as if it was under the Fidelius charm. But they're muggles. They can't have used the Fidelius charm. But even if so, what will all the muggle neighbours think about the house having vanished without trace? Oh well, perhaps the charm would simply made them forget about it, just like the old Black house at Grimmauld Place simply vanished from between the other houses. I'll have to check that out.'
Very worried now – more about Harry than about the secrecy of the magical world – she swiftly returned to Hogwarts and made her way back towards the headmaster's office, when she suddenly stopped walking.
'No, I'm not going to inform Albus about it,' she decided. 'Instead, I'll write Harry a letter and ask him what happened. Perhaps, he's not even aware of the matter.'
She settled behind her desk and, instead of enjoying the peace and quiet of the summer holidays, readied her quill and wrote a letter to one of her favourite students.
'Dear Harry,
wanting to make sure that you safely arrived at your relatives' home, I went to visit you in my Animagus form. However, I could not see your relatives' house at all. Please be so kind and tell me what happened. Are you safe? Did someone cast the Fidelius charm at your house? I promise that I am solely asking out of my own curiosity and concern about you and will keep any response from you confidential.
Best wishes
Minerva McGonagall'
Folding the parchment, she pocketed it and walked up to the owlery, realising that Harry had indeed left Hedwig at Hogwarts, just like she had overheard him tell Ronald a few days ago. 'As she's his familiar, she should be able to find him even under the Fidelius charm,' she thought, 'at least as soon as he leaves the house.'
"Will you take this to Harry and wait for a reply, please?" she addressed the snowy white owl, who nodded and gave her a reassuring hoot.
HP
Harry woke up, feeling refreshed and more alert than he had felt in a while. 'Oh Merlin, I slept through the whole night and didn't even have nightmares,' he thought in relief, just when a stroppy canine abruptly opened the door and strode into his room.
"Snuffles," Harry happily greeted his godfather, who eagerly licked his face in greeting. "Ah, stop it, you dirty mutt," he then added, laughing, as he tried to evade the dog. "I'm going to wash myself. I don't need help with that."
A moment later, the canine transformed into his godfather's human form.
"The Dursleys have offered me that I could stay in the attic," he informed Harry, grinning broadly, as Harry's eyebrows rose into his fringe.
"They what? Oh wow, that's cool," he blurted out, feeling very happy at the prospect of having his funny godfather nearby during the whole summer, when a sudden thought popped up at the front of his mind. "Sirius, have they really changed so much during the last couple of days? Somehow, this whole story seems like a pleasant but weird dream to me."
"They have, and yes, I understand what you mean. I suppose that it won't be easy to forget everything that they've done to make your life miserable so far," Sirius continued in a quieter voice, sighing. "Me moving into the attic might help with that, but it also means that you'll have to help me clean it out by the way."
"Of course," Harry replied, as he scrambled out of his bed, picked some clothes out of his trunk, which he still had to unpack, and headed to the door. "I'm going to take a shower," he informed his godfather before leaving the room.
HP
Later on, when Harry and Sirius entered the kitchen for a late breakfast, Petunia and Dudley were still sitting around the kitchen table.
"I'm sorry," Harry apologized. "I should have made breakfast ages ago, but I completely overslept."
"It's all right," Petunia replied in a soft voice. "You don't have to make breakfast. Just sit down and have some yourself."
Harry stared at his aunt in surprise, when Dudley blurted out, "Harry, are you still going to make dinner please? Your steaks really are the best."
Smirking, Harry nodded. "I'll do that," he promised, giving his cousin a hesitant smile, noticing that the boy seemed sincere.
'This change in the behaviour of the Dursleys is too good to be true,' Harry thought, as he helped himself to some cornflakes and fruit. 'I just hope that it is a permanent thing and won't ever go back to how it was. Somehow, I have the impression as if I was stuck in a good dream.'
HP
They were still sitting at the kitchen table talking about magic and the possibility of practising magic with or without a wand, when Hedwig arrived through the open garden door.
"Hedwig," Harry said in surprise. "Thank Merlin you could find me in spite of the Fidelius charm." 'I didn't even consider if she'd be able to find me,' he realised, somehow feeling guilty about it. "Oh, you have a letter for me," he added, his eyes widening. "I only separated from everyone yesterday evening," he added in confusion.
"Where did you leave her?" Sirius enquired.
"At Hogwarts," Harry replied, as he carefully took the parchment from the owl, forcing himself to not mention the reason for him to leave his familiar at the school in front of his aunt and cousin.
"Then it must be from Hogwarts," his godfather stated the obvious.
"I hope you didn't get into trouble," Petunia added, giving Harry a sharp look.
"Of course not," Harry replied, indignantly, letting out a relieved sigh upon glancing at the small parchment.
"It's from Professor McGonagall," he explained. "She came to check if I had arrived without problems but couldn't see the house due to the Fidelius charm. I better write to her and give her the address."
"No," Sirius replied, sharply, causing everyone to stare at him in disbelief.
"You can't send the address per mail. What if the owl gets intercepted and the parchment stolen?" the Marauder replied in a firm voice. "You have to floo call McGonagall and show her the address or give it to her and ask her to burn the parchment afterwards."
"We should connect our fireplace to the Floo network if that's possible," Petunia stated, giving Sirius a questioning look.
"It should be possible, but for that, we need the Unspeakables' help," Sirius replied, thoughtfully. "Would you mind me giving Raros the address?"
"Do you know who he is?" Harry enquired. "Have you known him before?"
Sirius let out a deep sigh. "I have a suspicion from observing a conversation between Meli and him," he admitted. "But I'm not sure. I could be wrong, but I suspect him to be my brother. As unbelievable as it is, considering that he's supposed to have been dead for more than a decade. Keep quiet about it please. As I said, it's only a suspicion. Meli said that she'd trust him."
"Of course, we'll keep that to ourselves," Petunia promised, smiling. "I very much hope for you that it's true though."
"I hope so, too," Harry added, sincerely. "That would be extremely cool."
"It would indeed be," Sirius agreed, smiling. "I'll go and see if I can speak with him," he then decided, turning to Harry. "Could you give me the address on a small parchment please? I'm going to fetch my robes from the attic."
"Of course," Harry replied and, gratefully accepting a piece of paper and a pencil from his aunt, penned, '4 Privet drive, Little Whinging, Surrey'.
"Thanks," Sirius replied, as he pocketed the piece of paper in the inner pocket of his robes. "I'll be back soon."
HP
Thirty minutes later, Sirius returned with Unspeakable Raros in tow. Harry felt somehow disappointed that he could not see the man's face, as he was wearing grey robes with a hood. 'Well, it's obvious that they need to remain unrecognised,' he told himself, wondering if Raros was indeed Sirius' brother. 'It would be so cool for him,' he thought, when he was brought back to reality by the Unspeakable's words.
"Are you sure that you want me to connect your fireplace to the Floo network?" Raros asked in a no-nonsense voice.
"Yes please," Petunia replied, firmly.
"Only people who know our address will be able to floo here, is that right?" Harry enquired.
"That is correct," the Unspeakable reassured him.
"Then please go ahead," Petunia said, giving Harry an appreciative look.
Ten minutes and a couple of pointed flicks of the Unspeakable's hand later, the floo connection was installed, and Raros tried it out by travelling to the Unspeakables' office and back.
"Do you have time to have some tea with us?" Petunia invited the Unspeakable, who after a glance at his wrist watch accepted the offer.
"What are you going to do now that you have your magical powers back?" Raros enquired, causing Harry to look from Dudley to Petunia in silent question.
"Sirius and Harry offered to teach Dudley and me," Petunia hesitantly admitted. "However, Harry mustn't use his wand, and Sirius…" She slowly trailed off.
"… doesn't have a wand at the moment," Raros completed her sentence. He remained quiet for a moment, before he continued, "I am fairly sure that the ministry wouldn't be able to recognise any magic cast in a building which is under the Fidelius charm. I wouldn't recommend leaving the house let alone heading to Diagon Alley to any of the four of you, considering that we're not one hundred percent certain that it was indeed Dumbledore who did this to you. At least, one second person was involved. As to the matter with the wands," he added, pensively, "I'll see if there's anything that I can do about it. I'll come back tomorrow if I may."
"Of course," Petunia confirmed with apparent eagerness. "Thank you so much for your help."
"You're welcome," Raros replied and, after a glance at a for once quiet Sirius, simply popped away.
"Crass," Dudley commented in apparent amazement.
'I just hope that he'll keep this attitude towards magic and also towards me,' Harry thought, eyeing his cousin with apprehension. 'Oh well, if not, the professors at Hogwarts will surely do something about him,' he reassured himself. 'I wonder if he'll be able to attend Hogwarts and in which house he's going to be sorted,' he thought, when Petunia brought him back to reality.
"Did you want to floo call Professor McGonagall?" she suddenly addressed him, causing Harry to cast her a surprised look.
"Oh right, I should do that," he replied, knowing that his head of house – in spite of her usually unpersonal attitude towards him – was worried about him. 'She's very careful to not show favouritism,' he told himself, 'but nevertheless, she seems to care about me.'
Recalling that he still had the parchment with the address that he had written for the Dursleys in the back pocket of his jeans, he took it out and headed to the fireplace.
Kneeling in front of the fireplace, Harry threw in some floo powder, which Unspeakable Raros had left on the mantelpiece for them, he shouted, "Professor McGonagall's office, Hogwarts."
HP
It took about thirty seconds, before the head of the deputy headmistress appeared in front of the fireplace, and Harry already feared that she was not in her office, when she finally replied to the call.
"Harry," the professor said with a combination of surprise and apparent approval. "I take it your owl found you."
Harry returned the smile his head of house offered. "Yes, thank you, Professor. Err, I have a small parchment here to give you. Could you please either give it back to me or destroy it right away? I don't want to let anyone else in on the secret."
"Of course," the professor replied, gently, holding out her hand. "Please show it to me."
Reaching through the fire, Harry handed her the parchment, and the teacher's expression softened some.
"Thank you very much," she said, as she handed the parchment back to him. "Would you mind telling me what happened?"
Harry feverishly pondered what to tell the old witch. "Professor, would you mind promising to not tell Professor Dumbledore anything of what I tell you? If you'd be willing to do that, I'd like to ask you to come over for a little while. It's a longer story."
McGonagall cast him a surprised look, before she agreed. "Well, step back then, and I'll step through. The headmaster had an appointment at the Ministry of Magic and won't miss me too soon."
As soon as Harry stepped back and walked over to the other side of the room, the professor stepped out of the fireplace, looking around in apparent surprise.
HP
"Professor, these are my aunt Petunia and my cousin Dudley," Harry introduced his relatives, who had followed him into the living room. "Aunt Petunia, Dudley, this is Professor McGonagall," he continued, noticing that Sirius was pointedly absent.
He quickly told the professor what Sirius had found out, before McGonagall interrupted him, sharply.
"Sirius Black?" she asked, alert.
"Professor," Petunia spoke up, sighing. "Sirius is innocent, and Amelia promised to arrange a trial for him to prove his innocence as soon as possible."
McGonagall nodded in understanding. "Albus said something like that last summer, but the Minister of Magic didn't believe it," she replied, pensively. "So, you're both magical?" she asked in apparent disbelief, shaking her head in annoyance, when both Petunia and Dudley confirmed the matter.
"Sirius and Harry promised to teach us," Petunia explained, "and Unspeakable Raros promised to see to it that we get some wands to try out if there is one that fits us."
The professor remained pensive for a moment, before she replied, "I can teach you as well, and I could ask some of my colleagues, for example, Professors Flitwick and Snape to help, too."
"Severus Snape?" Petunia asked, seemingly alert. "He was a good friend of Lily and myself. I'd love to see him again."
"The problem is," Harry spoke up, "oh well, apart from the fact that Snape hates me with a passion, that Professor Dumbledore mustn't know about it."
"Harry," McGonagall spoke up in a soft voice, "I don't think that Professor Dumbledore has anything to do with your aunt's and cousin's predicament. Why would he do such a thing?"
"That's the question," Harry replied, letting out a deep sigh. "I'm sorry, Professor, but as long as no one has questioned him under Veritaserum… truth serum that makes one speak nothing but the truth," he added on Dudley's questioning look, "I don't believe that he's innocent."
"Understandable," McGonagall replied, nodding her head in apparent understanding. "Perhaps he'd be willing to be questioned under Veritaserum. Does anyone else but Sirius know about the matter?"
Petunia nodded. "Amelia Bones and Unspeakable Raros," she replied, giving the professor a helpless look.
McGonagall nodded, resolutely. "I'll speak with Amelia and see what I can do. I'll also talk with my colleagues about the matter without alerting the headmaster. I'll come back to discuss your studies tomorrow if that's all right with you."
"That's fine. Thank you so very much for your help," Petunia replied, casting the older witch a grateful smile.
"Thanks Professor," Harry and Dudley added, simultaneously.
HP
After dinner the same evening, Minerva called Poppy over to ask her best friend for an advice. "Poppy, what should I do? I don't have problems going behind Albus' back teaching the Dursleys, at least during the summer, but I can't very well ask Severus or Filius to do such a thing, and Pomona doesn't have time anyway."
Poppy remained pensive for a moment, before she said, slowly, "Minerva, I can't really see your problem. If Albus indeed cast those charms and spells, he doesn't deserve better, but in case it was not him but someone else, he surely wouldn't mind you and our colleagues teaching the Dursleys, especially considering that they've been wronged badly."
Minerva let out a relieved sigh, casting Poppy a grateful look. "You're right as usual. I'll speak with them then."
Poppy nodded in understanding. "You should, however…"
Unfortunately, Minerva was not going to hear her friend's advice anytime soon, as the fireplace flared and the headmaster's head appeared in the flames.
"Minerva, could you come over right away please? It's urgent."
tbc...
Thank you so very much for the overwhelming reviews for the previous chapter. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and what you expect from this story. Any ideas or opinions are welcome. My muse really appreicates the feedback.
Next chapter: "The attic".