Chapter Sixty-One - The Invitation

Harry woke from another dream, his scar tingling painfully. He rubbed his forehead, frowning. It had been weeks since he had last felt pain in his scar. He had assumed it went away on its own, and so he had never bothered to mention it to Sirius or Remus. But now the pain was worse than it had ever been before.

Once more, he tried to remember what he'd dreamt about, but he had only vague impressions. If he focused hard, he thought he remembered trees, a forest perhaps, and two figures walking through it. He was sure one of the figures had been Wormtail. He had not recognized the other person, but he had the distinct impression it was a woman. He remembered feeling afraid for her, but he wasn't sure why. They must have been speaking to one another, but it was as if Harry were listening to voices from the end of a long, echoing tunnel. He couldn't seem to make out the words. Then all was confusion, followed by a flash of green light… He tried to chase the memory of the woman, searching for some meaning behind his dream, but as the pain in his scar faded away, so too did fleeting images in his mind.

His thoughts were interrupted by a sound from the hall. In the dim light of dawn that barely filtered through his dark green curtains, Harry saw his bedroom door slowly swing open. He saw no one standing in the doorway, but he could hear the distinct sound of footsteps softly padding across the carpeted floor.

Harry instinctively reached for his wand, but he couldn't find it on the nightstand. He must have knocked it to the floor in his sleep. He grabbed his glasses instead, hastily shoving them on his face just as a large, black creature jumped on his bed.

Harry's scream turned to laughter as the big dog pawed playfully at his face and arms. In an instant, the dog transformed into Sirius, who prodded Harry in the ribs a few more times to elicit more peals of laughter before cheerfully shouting, "Happy Birthday, Harry!"

Any thought related to Harry's dream was blasted away as he remembered that today was his fourteenth birthday, the first he would celebrate with Sirius. Several weeks had passed since Harry began living with his godfather. At first, Sirius had resisted Harry's efforts to assist with the repairs around the house. But when he saw how happy it made Harry to explore the secrets of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, learning more about Sirius's childhood, he was glad to accept Harry's help.

There had been only one moment of unpleasantness when the curtain at the top of the stairs had been pulled aside, revealing the screeching portrait of Walburga Black once more. She was quickly hushed up, and Harry was given to understand that many attempts had been made to remove her from the house, but a permanent sticking charm, similar to the ones used in his own room, kept her in place. Sirius had explained to him that his childhood had not been pleasant while living under his parents' roof. He seemed embarrassed whenever he alluded to this aspect of his past, but Harry felt even closer to Sirius for this admission. Harry had not received the best treatment when he lived with the Dursleys, his muggle relations, so he felt that he and Sirius had something in common.

When not dusting old chandeliers or banishing boggarts with Sirius, Harry would spend hours in the library with Remus. The Black family had kept an extensive private collection of spellbooks and other mystic tomes. Some of the books contained rather unpleasant spells, accompanied by even worse illustrations, but others were classics of the wizarding world. Remus would amuse him with spirited readings from The Tales of Beedle the Bard, and it was more common than not for Sirius to join in. Harry's godfather had a flair for the dramatic, and he would often insist on reading from plays that had been popular when he and Remus were boys. Harry, who knew absolutely nothing about entertainment in the wizarding world prior to this, was vastly entertained.

At other times, Remus would take Harry out to see London. Sirius would usually absent himself from these excursions. Muggles still believed that Sirius was a wanted fugitive, yet another oversight on the part of the Ministry, who had failed to inform the appropriate muggle authorities of their retraction. Even when their trips took them to wizarding districts such as Diagon Alley, Sirius was often stared at by passerby. The magical community had believed Sirius to be a murderer for twelve years, and were used to seeing his face on wanted posters. They would not soon be rid of their prejudice.

Today, Harry followed his godfather down to the kitchen, where Remus was busy setting the table before a large breakfast spread. The cooking was all Sirius's doing, of course. He delegated very few responsibilities to Kreacher, his house elf, and he was far more adept at domestic spells than Remus.

"Happy Birthday!" Remus said in greeting. He pulled out a seat for Harry, which he accepted with thanks. He then turned his attention to a modest pile of gifts stacked neatly at his elbow. The poorly wrapped package in brown paper was surely from Hagrid, but Harry was surprised to see two more gifts in the pile. He knew Blaise and Millie would be bringing presents when their train arrived that afternoon. He then considered the possibility that the other two boxes were from Sirius and Remus, until he noticed a simple envelope on top of the stack with his name neatly printed on the side.

"That one's from us," Sirius said as he began dishing food out onto each of their plates, "I insist you open it last."

He was sure Sirius had something excellent planned. He was far too excited about the gifts, and was attempting to keep himself calm by giving his hands something to do. He had already placed six fried eggs onto Remus's plate without seeming to notice what he was doing. Feeling his own excitement grow, Harry reached for the largest package, the one that he had correctly guessed was from Hagrid. It turned out to be a treacle tart, which Harry was certain would be too hard for any creature to eat. He set it aside and turned to the mystery gifts, surprised to see that they were from Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom. He had no idea how they'd figured out where to send the packages, until Remus explained that there was a post office in Diagon Alley where all their mail was sent. With the secrecy charm over Grimmauld Place, they couldn't have owls delivering letters to their door. Harry realized then that either Sirius or Remus must have got up early to fetch his packages, and he thanked them profusely as he opened the presents.

Hermione's gift turned out to be a book on wand lore. Harry smiled to himself. It was exactly like Hermione to send reading material. They had taken the same wand-making class last year, and Harry thought the book, much like the class, could be very interesting. Neville's gift also brought a smile to his face. It was a Rememberall, similar to the one Harry had rescued from Draco Malfoy when they were only first-years. Harry hadn't had a chance to return the item himself, but the note that accompanied the present revealed that Professor McGonagall had explained the situation to him at the time. Harry was touched that Neville remembered.

All that remained was the gift from Sirius and Remus. His godfather, with an indulgent smile, pushed the small envelope toward Harry. He first thought of money, but wizard money was in coins of gold, silver, or bronze. The envelope was too small and too thin to contain that. His curiosity at its peak, Harry opened the envelope and found five tickets inside.

"Four Hundred and Twenty Second Quidditch World Cup?" Harry read aloud. He stared at Sirius, his eyes wide in disbelief. "We're going to see the World Cup? In person?"

"Surprise!" said Sirius, "I hope that five tickets will be enough. I thought you would want to invite Blaise and Millie."

"Can we go see them now?" Harry asked, already jumping out of his seat.

"Their train isn't due for another two hours!" Remus said with a chuckle, "Why don't you eat your breakfast first, then we can go meet them?"

Harry tried his best to follow Remus's suggestion, but he was too ecstatic to enjoy his food. He was still clutching the tickets in one hand. As he absently pushed his toast around his plate, he reflected that Blaise had always been the one to invite him to things. First it had been Christmas at his house, then the summer holiday, and finally Mrs. Zabini had offered her home to him for as long as he desired. This was the first opportunity Harry had to return the favor. The thought of inviting his friends to something fun for the first time in his life was almost a greater gift than the tickets themselves.

He soon found himself riding in another taxi with Remus at his side. They were headed back to King's Cross station, only this time he would be welcoming his two best friends to his new home, where they would stay for the rest of the summer.

They met the Bulstrodes first. The couple were overjoyed to see Harry again. He had rescued their daughter from a basilisk during their second year at school, and to Mr. and Mrs. Bulstrode, Harry would always be something of a hero.

They seemed a trifle disappointed that Sirius had not accompanied Harry to the station, but they had the tact to avoid asking about the former fugitive aloud. Instead, they thanked Harry for inviting Millie to stay. They were so pleased that she would be staying with him that they had no objection to her going to the World Cup. Harry dismissed their thanks off hand and avoided Millie's gaze. Her parents had an uncomfortable habit of implying that their daughter was lucky to have any friends at all, and the friendship of someone like Harry Potter was valued even more.

But their opinion of their daughter's merits seemed to have increased with her new ability as an animagus. In fact, while Millie readied her cat's kennel for storage in the taxi, her parents began discussing the transformation process with Remus at length, and soon revealed that part of their interest in meeting Sirius stemmed from their knowledge about his recent registration.

"Of course, I suppose you'd know all about it," said Mr. Bulstrode.

"I'm not sure I understand your meaning," replied Remus coolly.

"Didn't Millicent say you were an animagus as well?" Mr. Bulstrode asked, looking to his wife for verification.

"No dear, she said that…" began Mrs. Bulstrode, though she stopped herself mid-sentence. She darted a nervous glance at Remus and abruptly changed the subject.

Harry was worried about the turn the conversation had taken. Remus had endured his monthly transformation only the week before, and he looked pale and sickly as a result. His appearance, added to his scars and a recent scratch along his cheek, made Harry certain that Mr. Bulstrode would soon realize his mistake.

He was grateful for the sight of Blaise, making a scene as usual with Oroboros draped around his neck. Mrs. Zabini was close behind him, glamourous as always, and drawing considerable attention herself from the young men who passed them by.

"There you are," Mrs. Zabini said, nodding politely at Remus and the Bulstrodes before greeting Harry with a hug and kiss on his cheek, "I hope we're not interrupting."

"Not at all, my husband and I were just saying that we have business in town," Mrs. Bulstrode said smoothly. This, of course, had not been the subject under discussion, but Harry admired her for the ease with which she'd spoken. She smiled up at her husband, who was built along the lines of Millie and much larger than his wife, "Now that the others have arrived, we should say our goodbyes."

Harry could see that Mr. Bulstrode was giving Remus a second look. He appeared to realize his mistake, but rather than view Remus with open horror, he seemed to be embarrassed by his own carelessness. He quickly agreed with his wife's proposal, and they had soon said their goodbyes to Millie, not forgetting to add a wish that she enjoy herself at the World Cup.

"World Cup?" Blaise asked, his eyebrows raised in surprise, "What's that about the World Cup?"

Millie smirked, pleased that she had received the news first. She was content with her own private victory, however, and did not steal Harry's moment. He was free to say with all the enthusiasm in his power, "Sirius and Remus got us all tickets! We're going to the Quidditch World Cup!"

Mrs. Zabini looked alarmed by this news, but Blaise was overjoyed. When Remus suggested that his going was conditional on Mrs. Zabini's acceptance, he turned to her with the full anticipation of her agreement. Harry felt a moment's hesitation, but Mrs. Zabini had never been able to refuse her only son anything. She accepted the invitation as a matter of course, though Harry was not surprised when she chose to attend them back to Grimmauld Place.

Harry thought that a ride with two adults and three teenagers would be a bit cramped for one taxi, and he had been correct. Mrs. Zabini ordered one for herself and Blaise, while Harry rode along with Millie. Remus sat in front next to the driver, affording Harry an opportunity to speak with Millie in relative privacy.

"Did you tell your parents that Remus is a werewolf?" Harry muttered to her.

Millie rolled her eyes, "Oh for Merlin's sake, what did my dad say?"

"Nothing much," replied Harry, "but he said something about transforming. He seemed to think Remus was an animagus."

Millie considered that for a moment, then replied, "I wish I had thought of that."

"What?"

"Well, of course I told them! It was all over Hogwarts when we left. I thought it would be better coming from me, and it was. They're convinced that so long as it's safe for you at Sirius's place, then it's good enough for me."

Harry wished it could be that simple for Mrs. Zabini. He wondered what she would say, or what new stipulations she would make on her second trip to Grimmauld Place.

Fortunately, he was not kept in suspense long. Soon after their arrival, she asked if she could speak with Sirius privately. Harry was worried that she might object to Blaise staying for the rest of the summer, but Blaise disagreed with him.

"She would have said something to me if she was going to change plans," he said.

"But what has she got to talk to Sirius for? And in private too?"

"It's not private. Professor Lupin is with them," Millie observed. She had not quite cured herself of the habit of referring to Remus as their professor.

Harry didn't reply. The fact that Remus was with them was part of his concern, but he didn't want to say anything in front of Blaise that might offend him.

"Why don't we just use your cloak?"

He was referring to Harry's invisibility cloak. Harry had inherited from his father, and it had served him in many previous adventures. But he and his friends had grown too large to fit underneath the cloak at the same time. For one person it would do, but Harry knew his friends would not be satisfied waiting in his bedroom while he listened in at the door.

They settled for good old-fashioned eavesdropping. Setting themselves outside the parlor door, they strained their ears and listened to the sound of Mrs. Zabini's voice within.

"... perfectly happy to give up the summer," she was saying, "But I would like it if Harry could continue visiting my home over the winter holiday."

Harry turned to Blaise with wide eyes, conveying his surprise with a look rather than words. Blaise merely returned his glance with a toothy grin. Harry couldn't believe that Mrs. Zabini was negotiating for time with him, but to Blaise it appeared to be nothing more than what was expected.

"The boys will probably want to remain at school this year," Mrs. Zabini continued, "I don't think they'll want to miss out on the fun. But I host a party each Christmas, and you're welcome to come, whether Harry is there or not."

"And would Remus be included in this invitation?" he heard Sirius say. His voice was friendly and calm, though Harry knew there was more meaning behind his words than his tone would admit.

There was a beat of silence, then Mrs. Zabini replied in the affirmative with an added, "Of course."

"Then we would be delighted!" Sirius said cheerfully.

There was the sound of a chair scraping across the floor, and Harry wondered for a moment if Sirius had actually approached Mrs. Zabini to shake hands on the deal. Instead, the door swung open. Harry and his friends fell backward, surprised in the act of espionage.

A shadow passed over Mrs. Zabini's face. She was clearly not amused. But Sirius merely laughed and winked at Harry, commenting that a little curiosity never hurt anyone.

Harry sought to combat Mrs. Zabini's momentary displeasure by giving her another hug.

"Thank you again for letting Blaise come with us to the World Cup," Harry said, anxious to distract her before she could make the moment more awkward by mentioning the holiday proposal.

Mrs. Zabini was unable to stay angry with Blaise for long, and she extended the same rule to Harry. The smile returned to her beautiful features as she said, "There is no need to thank me. I should be thanking you for inviting him along."

"But you'll be there too, mum," Blaise said, giving her a pointed glance.

Sirius and Remus both expressed their surprise, and hoped that she hadn't felt left out.

"Not at all," she said, "The truth is I had no intention of going, but I was offered a seat in the top box by Ludo Bagman, and I thought I might as well accept."

Sirius looked impressed, but the name was unfamiliar to Harry. Blaise came to his aid, leaning toward him and whispering in his ear, "He's the head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports… and mum's latest suitor."

Harry smirked and hissed in parseltongue, "Do you like him?"

But he would have to wait until later to tease Blaise. Sirius gave him a sharp look and said, "We agreed, no parseltongue with guests."

"But Blaise understands me!"

"But I don't, and that's the problem," Sirius said with another wink.

Harry shrugged. He felt he had the answer to one question at least. Mrs. Zabini would have invited Harry and Blaise herself if Sirius and Remus hadn't beaten her to it. That explained why she was so eager to claim the holiday months in advance.

"It's about time for dinner," Sirius said, taking note of an antique grandfather clock set in the hall, "I don't suppose I could convince you to accept a place, Mrs. Zabini?"

Blaise's mother hesitated a moment. Harry was positive she would refuse, as she had refused tea with them before, but to his surprise, she accepted.

Sirius was delighted to show off his cooking skills to three new guests, and they were soon gathered round the table in the kitchen, Sirius working smoothly and efficiently at the iron stove while Remus entertained the others. Harry was engrossed in a discussion of the teams that would be playing at the World Cup when he caught Ludo Bagman's name being mentioned between the adults again.

"I meant to ask you about Bagman," Remus was saying, "Is it true that Bertha Jorkins is missing from his department?"

"Yes, she went on holiday to Albania and hasn't returned, but Ludo hasn't spoken to me about it."

"We knew Bertha at school, didn't we Remus?" Sirius said loudly over his shoulder, "Nosy girl, always sleuthing around, trying to listen in on conversations she had no business in."

"That sounds rather like a few people I know," Remus replied, directing a teasing smile at Harry.

"I hope she's alright," Mrs. Zabini said, though her tone was careless, "As I said, Ludo hasn't mentioned her, except to say that he's sure she'll turn up. A bit of a scatterbrain, apparently. He was rather more interested in his plans after the World Cup."

"I wasn't aware his department had any upcoming plans. What could be more interesting than the Cup?" asked Sirius as he finished bringing the dishes to the table.

But Mrs. Zabini would only smile, glance at Harry and Blaise, and shake her head.

"It will have to wait. I can only say it will be a very interesting year at Hogwarts."

This was enough mystery to pique Harry's interest. The adults returned to their conversation about the missing ministry woman, and Harry felt it was safe to resume parseltongue once more.

"What's going on at school?" Harry hissed.

For a moment, he thought Blaise didn't understand the question. He was not a natural parselmouth, as Harry was. But it seemed that Blaise only needed a moment to think about his response, for he hissed back, "No idea. Won't say me either."

Harry looked to Millie, who similarly shrugged, then tucked into her shepherd's pie.

After dinner, Mrs. Zabini took her leave. She could not be pressed by Sirius into staying the night. Harry took Blaise and Millie on a tour of the house that evening. For Millie, it was her first time exploring the various rooms and halls of Grimmauld Place, but for Blaise it was the second time. Harry enjoyed showing him all the improvements they had made since his last visit, and cautioned them both to be quiet beside the portrait of Mrs. Black.

Among the improvements were two extra bedrooms specifically fitted up for guests. They had prepared a room for Mille and Blaise, but the trio quickly formed a resolution to camp out in Harry's room. Before long, the floor was scattered with spare blankets and the start of a promising pillow fort. For the first time since his arrival, Harry felt like the space was truly his own.

"Is your scar still hurting you, Harry?" Blaise asked abruptly that night after Sirius and Remus had already gone to bed.

The room was dark, lit only by a single enchanted flame. They were seated on the floor around it, propped up on their various assortment of pillows.

Harry felt his hand twitch. He nearly reached for his scar out of habit, but stopped himself in time.

"It doesn't hurt now," he replied, "But it did happen again this morning."

"You didn't tell me your scar was hurting," said Millie.

"Just a couple of times this summer," Harry explained, "I thought it was just stress over… Well, Pettigrew, you know? But…"

He stopped, glancing at the dark corners around them. Somehow the room felt bigger in the dark.

"Millie," he said, "Do you remember that locket? The one I pulled from the Sorting Hat down in the Chamber?"

Millie shuddered at the reminder and said, "I never liked that thing."

"I know, you told me to put it away. Well, I sort of forgot about it after that. But when I moved in, Sirius had his house elf unpack my things. He found the locket, and he was angry. He thought I'd stolen it."

"Stolen it?" Blaise asked, "From who?"

"Sirius's brother, Regulus."

"But if it was his locket, how did it end up in the Sorting Hat?" asked Millie.

Harry shrugged, "Dunno. Sirius said he never remembered his brother owning a locket. Remus thinks it actually belonged to Salazar Slytherin."
"Maybe the elf is lying?" Blaise suggested.

"I don't think so," said Harry, "He seemed pretty convinced… But that's not all. Regulus disappeared years ago. No one knows what happened to him. I had the story from Sirius while we were cleaning up one of the spare rooms. Apparently, he was interested in the Dark Arts. People said he even joined up with You-Know-Who. But then he vanished."

He paused again to glance around the room.

"This was his," he continued, "Sirius picked it for me because he was in Slytherin, too."

Blaise and Millie stared at him. Downstairs, the grandfather clock struck twelve chimes. It was midnight. Harry saw each of his friends shiver in the dark. At this late hour, his story had the effect of a ghost tale.

"What did you do with the locket?" Millie finally asked, her tone hushed and low.

"Sirius and Remus took it for safekeeping," Harry said, "I think they're going to see if they can open it."

"I don't think they should," she replied, "I told you, I have a bad feeling about it. Maybe it has something to do with your scar hurting."

Harry tried to laugh off her worries, telling her she was being silly. But something about her statement rang true to him, and he couldn't help but feel that finding the locket was a bad omen, after all.