26-Godfather

Dylan was surprised when Madam Bones approached him, shortly after the New Year.

"Are you keeping current with the news in the magical community?"

Dylan smiled apologetically. "Not really. My family usually updates me with the most important stuff, but I'm more interested in what happens in the Muggle community, since that's where I now live, you know. Is there anything I need to know?"

Amelia sighed. "Have you heard about Sirius Black? It was in the news about a year ago."

Dylan had to sift through some old memories to find something. "He's a year or two younger than me. He was a part of a group of mischief-makers at school, the Marauders, that also included James Potter. He had quite a few girlfriends at school. Can't recall anything else about him."

Amelia took a deep breath. "Well, he was believed to be the Potter secret keeper. After they were attacked, he became the main suspect. He was arrested a few days later after confronting Peter Pettigrew in a Muggle street. By that time, the street was blasted, probably due to a gas line exploding, and Peter disappeared, leaving only a finger behind, presumably killed by Black."

She took another deep breath before continuing. "Black was thrown to jail and never got a trial. Last year, when all the Death Eaters died, he stayed alive. That attracted the attention of my department and eventually reached my desk. I was appalled to find out that he had no interrogation and no trial, so I had him brought to the Ministry for interrogation. He then had a trial and testified under the truth serum, proving himself not guilty of any of the accusations. He'd been recuperating since, spending most of his time in St. Mungos."

Dylan was quite touched by the story of an innocent man suffering so much, yet the story just highlighted some of the reasons why he had chosen to leave the magical world. "Is he well now?"

Amelia smiled. "Mostly. There's one thing that could tremendously help him, though, and I think it's up to you."

Dylan felt confused. Amelia smiled reassuringly and continued. "You see, one of the reasons he couldn't have betrayed his friends is because he was made the sworn godfather of their child, Harry. Had he even tried to betray them, his own magic would have killed him. Now, what he wants most of all is to meet Harry and make sure he's well. I could only tell him that I've heard that Harry is healthy and happy. It calmed him a bit, but he won't be able to live peacefully until he can meet Harry."

As much as Dylan wanted to help, Harry's security was the decisive factor. "How good are his Occlumency shields?"

Amelia sighed. "As a Black, he learned Occlumency since early childhood, but spending six years in Azkaban wreaked havoc with all his mental abilities. He's much better now, but he could use some help."

It was Dylan's turn to sigh. "Without strong Occlumency shields, I can't disclose the secret. It would be almost like telling it to Dumbledore directly, and that would destroy everything we have here. I can try to teach him the children's version of Occlumency. It's simpler and more effective, so there's a good chance for him to master it quickly."

"Will you do it for me?… er.. him?"

Dylan smiled. "My role in life is to help people. Where can I meet him?"

"I can bring him later this evening to my house, if you like."

Dylan sighed. "After spending an afternoon with these children, I usually need the rest of the day just to recuperate. They are so fantastically talented that I get exhausted just watching the way they do magic. It's mind-boggling!"

Amelia nodded understandingly. "Tomorrow at seven?" she suggested.

"That should be fine."

\/\/\/

Dylan decided to wear his robes for that meeting. While Amelia and Susan knew about his life, he wasn't sure how Sirius Black would react to a Muggle vicar. Dressing the magical way was safer.

At seven, he shifted to Amelia who was waiting at the Bones entrance hall and was soon introduced to a tall slim man. "Sirius, this is Darius Greengrass. He has recently learned a different method of Occlumeny that might be useful for you too. Darius, this is Sirius Black, the current Head of House Black."

Dylan bowed formally, as expected of magical higher echelons and Sirius acknowledged him with a nod, as expected, before saying, "Please leave the formalities aside. Ami told me you may be able to help me find my godson. How?"

Dylan was still surprised by the Gryffindor direct approach, although he thought he shouldn't. "Well, your godson is Harry Potter, isn't he?"

Sirius nodded impatiently.

"You may also know that not all the Death Eaters and their supporters were found and put in jail, although a plague, about a year ago, seems to have killed all the remaining marked Death Eaters. It did nothing to others."

"Sure, I've already heard about it all."

Dylan disregarded the impatient tone. "This means that there are still quite a few supporters and sympathizers in the magical society. Do you think it's safe to let them know where 'The-Boy-Who-Lived', the one who vanquished their master, is living?"

Sirius deflated. "That may still be too dangerous. Some of the unmarked supporters are just as bad as the Death Eaters."

Dylan nodded in agreement. "That's why you need to rebuild your Occlumency shields. Mr. Potter needs to stay hidden from all these people and given a chance to grow up as normally as possible."

Sirius nodded reluctantly. "So, you believe you can help me?"

Dylan smiled. "I may try. You see, I've recently tried to teach some children about Occlumency. Susan is one of them. They considered the standard method too complex, so they discussed it and came with a different way to reach the same goal. They used this method to build better shields within an hour than I could after a year of training. You may find this new method quite useful."

Sirius wasn't as fast as the children. He needed several meetings before Dylan considered his mind shields satisfactory. He then told him, "You may be glad to hear that Harry was the main force behind this new method."

Sirius's eyes lighted up. "You know Harry? You met him? How is he?"

Dylan smiled. "Harry is a fine young man that you can be very proud of. He's at the top of his class, academically; he has quite a few friends, both muggle and magical; despite a very shaky beginning, his family life is now quite happy."

Sirius paid utmost attention. "What do you mean about his family life?" he growled.

Dylan sighed. "After that night, Dumbledore hid Harry in the muggle world. He may have had good intentions, but that was not enough. He left the child on the doorstep of the Dursley family."

Sirius growled like an angry dog.

Dylan tried to reassure him. "At that time, that family was probably one of the worst for raising any child, and certainly for raising a magical one. Dumbledore cast some heavy bindings, probably to minimize accidental magic events. He also cast some tracking and monitoring charms on the child."

"How do you know about that?" Sirius asked in a menacing tone.

Dylan smiled reassuringly. "When I first met Harry, I couldn't refrain from noticing his famous lightning scar. It felt wrong. I took him to the goblin healers, where he got a complete health overhaul. They removed all the binds and the other spells from his body, leaving only the mail redirection. They also removed a dark entity from his scar and destroyed it a short while later. I believe that triggered the epidemic that killed the Death Eaters. By now, he has no scar, not even a sign of it, and is fully healthy. It also helps in hiding him, since he no longer sports that famous scar."

"I suppose that's good," Sirius growled. He then sighed. "Still, I really want to meet him, to get to know him, at least, and help raise him, if possible. Can you help me?"

Dylan was ready for that. "I trust you to cause him no harm, but I also need a magical vow to not tell Dumbledore anything about him. That man doesn't seem to have Harry's best interest in mind, to say the least."

Sirius nodded approvingly. "Had he been trustworthy, he would have made sure to give me a trial soon after my imprisonment, regardless of what he thought of my innocence. I now believe he had some other motives to keep me away from Harry. I'll happily take the vow."

\/\/\/

The next Tuesday, Sirius was anxiously waiting at Dylan's side for the children to come. He still missed Harry's arrival, watching the entrance door constantly while Harry materialized near the back wall. "Who is this man?" he asked, making Sirius turn abruptly, almost losing his balance.

Dylan smiled, noticing Sirius's surprise. "Harry, this is Sirius Black, your godfather, who couldn't contact you until now. Sirius, this is Harry Potter, although I think you already know."

Indeed, Sirius looked almost mesmerized. He scanned Harry, moving only his eyes, for a long moment, before he spoke. "You look exactly like a younger version of James, when I first met him, only you don't wear glasses and your eyes are green, like your mother's."

Harry shrugged. "I wore glasses until my scar was removed. I can see perfectly now without any glasses. Can you tell me some more about my father?"

Sirius raised a brow. "Don't you want to hear about your mother too?"

Harry smiled. "Aunt Petunia told me quite a bit about her, but she knows next to nothing about my Dad."

They didn't have much time for that discussion, though. Other children arrived a few minutes later, eager to learn some more. Harry excused himself and joined the group. Sirius just watched Dylan telling the children about some spell and demonstrating it. He silently wondered why bother with such a NEWT level spell with these young children. He even expressed his opinion when Dylan left the group and sat at his side.

"Just watch and listen. Tell me later what you think," Dylan told him, smiling reassuringly.

Skeptically, Sirius did just that. He saw the children discussing the new spell, comparing it to other spells ('How do they know such advanced spells?' Sirius wondered silently) and then he saw Harry whisper something to a girl and she whispering back. After a few more such exchanges, Harry stood up. "I think we have it right already." He then demonstrated the spell, only he used no incantation and no wand. Sirius felt overwhelmed.

Harry then started explaining how he did it and soon enough all the children were able to do the same. Sirius turned to Dylan. "This is not an illusion or an elaborate hoax, is it?"

Dylan just smiled. "They are fantastic! I've already learned from them more than I learned at Hogwarts. Also note that most of the children are about average in magical abilities, so it's not their power that makes them special, it's their attitude."

It took Sirius most of the meeting to calm down. By that time, the children mastered one more spell. This one, at least, was a simple household spell. He was still astounded by their ability to do it silently and wandlessly, especially when still so young.

As soon as the meeting was over, the children disappeared one by one, making no noise. Only Harry and that girl stayed a bit longer, talking softly. She then hugged him shortly and vanished as soon as she let go of him. Sirius had to shake his head in disbelief. Nothing of what he'd witnessed for the last two hours agreed with what he'd learned about magic. He wasn't sure what to think of this.

Harry talked a bit with Dylan and then approached Sirius. "Would you like to come home with me? I think Aunt Petunia would like to meet you."

Sirius wasn't so sure. He still remembered the bitter feelings between Lily and her sister, but he wouldn't even dream of rejecting Harry's offer. "Sure! Aren't you dressed a bit too lightly to go outside?"

Harry shrugged. "Of course, but we won't be outside. Here, take my hand."

Sirius took Harry's hand and was suddenly elsewhere. He felt like he hadn't moved at all while the scenery around him was quickly replaced. "Where are we?" he asked.

Harry smiled. "This is my room. Now, I think we should go down to meet my aunt."

Sirius just nodded, letting Harry drag him out of the room.