When the Dursley family arrived back in Surry after collecting Harry Potter at Kings Cross train station, Petunia, Dudley, and Vernon found a stranger seated in the lounge. It was Sirius Black who'd waited for them to return from the Station with Harry on 23 June.
"Who are you? Why are you in my house?" Vernon demanded upon seeing the dark-haired man sitting on the sofa in the lounge.
"I'm Sirius Black. Godfather of Harry Potter," Sirius replied as he drew his wand and waved it about without casting magic of any kind. "Now, out of the goodness of my heart, I'm allowing my boy to spend seven days here. Those seven days will recharge the special protective wards around your house that protect you from wizards who wish to harm Harry."
"What about us?" asked Vernon as Harry entered the house and ran across the room to hug his godfather.
After hugging Harry, Sirius shook his head and said, "Nothing prevents me from ripping you into bloody pieces except my godson doesn't want the trouble with your Police, our Aurors, and Ministry of Magic such an event might cause."
"Leave him alone for seven days – he has food and drink. His presence recharges the magic. On 1 July, he'll leave to spend the summer with me."
The marauder smirked.
"I'd advise you to move before the end of next June. I don't care which – another house, another name, another country. Harry won't return here after this week, and you won't have the protection any longer."
Before Sirius left Privet Drive, a Gringotts owl found him with an important letter. The man read it, smirked and then allowed his godson to read it.
'Sirius Black, Lord Black (presumptive). Greetings. Gringotts wishes to inform you that your cousin, Narcissa Malfoy and her son, Draco Malfoy, have departed Magical Britain via portkey for Gringotts Florence. Her plans are to establish a home there (in a vacant Black villa) and keep the Malfoy heir safe until he is twenty years old. We encouraged her to instill proper manners in the boy as well. In her absence, with Mr Malfoy seeming to have disappeared, she asks that you manage the Malfoy holdings and distribute her son's allowance as it is needed. Ragnock.'
Harry smirked as Sirius folded the letter and stuffed it into a pocket. "The vault manager will handle everything."
"At least Draco won't be at Hogwarts again," replied Harry before hugging his godfather goodbye for a week.
Thereafter passed a quiet week at Privet Drive – Dobby kept Harry fed and busy with lessons in his room and allowed him to take runs in the park, hiding him from the guards Dumbledore sent. Dudley spent most of the day with his friends rather than at home and even Petunia found reasons to linger in the stores rather than return home.
The stay at Privet Drive fell into a second week and then a third. The Dursleys grew unhappy, and Harry depended on Dobby to cast the Notice-Me-Not spell every day. And he was worried about Sirius – Hedwig could not take any letters to him and when he wrote to Remus Lupin about checking on Sirius, his owl returned with several flight feathers missing from one wing and from her tail. She had to remain on her stand for almost three days while her magic recovered and Harry fed his friend the mice, owl treats, and raw chicken she needed every morning and evening.
A nasty letter about attacking the penalties for attacking another wizard's familiar appeared on the kitchen table in Grimmauld Place and a second one appeared on the headmaster's desk but both letters were binned immediately. Molly told no one but the wound on her head bled almost continuously again.
BEATING THE FIDELIUS CHARMIt was Remus Lupin who came to No.4 Privet Drive to collect Harry from the home of his aunt the third week of July 1995. The teenager was not happy and immediately asked, "Where's Sirius? You never responded to my letter about Sirius! And then Hedwig was attacked! Know anything about that?"
The wizard hesitated to say too much and deflected the question by saying, "He's at the safe house."
"What safe house?"
"It's the house where the Order of the Phoenix uses as headquarters since the Dark Lord returned."
Harry made a smart remark, "Oh? Did Dumblesquat disappear on vacation again this summer?"
"Harry! Don't disrespect the headmaster's name."
"Why? He always forgets my name is 'Mr. Potter' at Hogwarts and everywhere in between."
The werewolf stopped walking and turned toward the teen to ask, "Harry, what's with the attitude?"
Harry stepped closer and hissed, "I was promised one week with the muggles and then I'd get to spend the rest of the summer with Sirius. After seven days without any letters and Hedwig refusing to carry any to Sirius, I got worried. I sent a letter to you and Hedwig came back injured. I tried to talk to you idiots on guard duty and everyone just apparated away when I got close."
"The Headmaster thought you were better off without your relatives getting upset about wizards being around until it was time for you to go to headquarters."
"Again, with this headquarters talk…you're worthless, you know that don't you? Your nose is stuck so far up Dumblesquat's butt you can't smell anything."
"Harry Potter!" Remus raised his wand and cast a stinging hex at the boy. The moment, his wand fired the spell, Lupin flew twenty feet in the air, and his wand flew in the opposite direction. Leaving the wizard in the weeds at the end of the park, Harry hurried to the street, raised his wand, and summoned the Knight's Bus.
"Hiya Stan!"
"Harry Potter! As I live and breathe! How are you this summer afternoon?"
"I'm good Stan. Can you take me to XXXX Grimmauld Place in London?"
"Sure enough," Stan replied collecting the fee and then setting the bus into its usual wild gyrations. The trip to London didn't take long but Harry barely noticed with his mind on his godfather's silence and wondering why he couldn't remember the house number where he'd spent last Christmas and the spring break. When Harry stepped down from the bus, the teenager walked from the street into a small park where he could vanish underneath the canopy of a few trees. He stared at the rowhouses along both sides of the street but couldn't remember the one where Sirius lived – where Harry had his own room.
Deciding that some bit of magic was keeping him from finding the house, Harry wondered if he could find it using logic.
'I can't remember the address,' Harry muttered to himself. 'I remember Grimmauld because Sirius and I made a joke out of the Grim Living at Number _ Grimmauld Place.'
His eyes brightened as he realized, 'I'm in the right neighborhood. I just got to find the house.'
Unlike magical children (and adults), Harry Potter had a solid foundation in math before he began Hogwarts. He understood numbers – they were taught alongside the alphabet in primary schools. He understood fractions and the concept of zed (zero) – something wizards could not understand.
'Let me start by looking at the houses – maybe there's a glamor or something.'
Harry walked up the street beginning on the side with the odd numbers and counted No.1, No.3, No.5, all the way to No.25. 'They all look like normal houses. A bit wore down but pretty normal.'
Then Harry crossed the street and began counting the even numbers, No.26, No.24, No.22, all the way to No.14 which then jumped to No.10. When he reached No.2, he frowned because nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but he felt as if something was missing from the numbers. A second walk up the street counting the even numbers again left him just as confused.
'Sod this! Something's wrong.'
Pulling a pad of paper and brio from his backpack, and without looking at any house, Harry wrote down all the numbers between 1 and 26. Then he walked down the street again, marking off the even numbers and then looking across the street to mark off the odd numbers as he passed. When he reached No.1 for the second time, he looked back at the list of numbers and did not think about the houses, just the numbers. The number 12 was not struck thru with a pen stroke.
"Number 12!" Harry declared aloud. "No.12 Grimmauld Place is where Sirius Black lives and the stupid secret order is meeting!"
After the declaration of the secret hidden underneath the obscure Fidelius spell by a magical being, Harry heard a loud crack like a large tree in the park breaking apart during an ice storm. Looking up the street, he could plainly see No.12 Grimmauld Place standing between No.10 and No.14. The townhouse looked worn, the bricks and windows filthy, with garbage covering the sidewalk next to the house.
'The place is still a dump,' Harry thought. After frowning, he called out, "Dobby."
The little fellow appeared and frowned to see such a mess in front of the house. The elf asked, "Is this place where Mr. Harry Potter spends summer?"
"Maybe. We were here at Christmas and during the spring holiday with my godfather, but someone tried to hide the house from me."
Dobby shook his head, "Someones hides house from every persons magical and muggle. This be safe, safe place."
"But I found it!" he declared. Grinning Harry told his friend, "I used logic and numbers. Something wizards don't have."
Staring at the house for a moment longer, Harry asked, "Dobby can you find out what's going on inside? See where Dogfather Sirius is?"
The elf was gone for only a few moments before popping back and explaining, "There's be many wizards and witches in house, including the stupid Weasels family. The guards in the bushes be here. And your dog father's be upstairs and asleep."
"Sirius is here so I'll go inside."
But before the boy could step forward, the elf stood in front of him and said, "Lets Dobby play mischief again, Mr. Harry Potters. Dobby enjoyed throwing wolfie around."
"Okay, but this time take their wands and hide them," Harry instructed his friend before Dobby popped away.
The teenager hurried to the door and grabbed the handle. He felt a tingle of magic in his hand before the door pushed into the interior and he stepped inside. The foyer was rather dark, and the furniture all appeared to be dusty and worn. There was trash on the floor and as soon as he closed the door, the portrait of Lady Black yelled about blood traitors in her house. Since waking up on the equinox, she'd seldom remained silent.
In just a moment, a door on the opposite end of the foyer opened and a troop of people poured into the foyer – many of them Harry had never seen before, but he knew the red-heads.
Scowling, Harry asked, "Why are Weasels in my Dogfather's home?"
SCENE BREAK *****"So, you're Harry Potter," stated a young, beautiful witch with shocking pink hair.
"You know exactly who I am Auror Tonks," Harry replied. "You were here in spring, and you've peeped into the windows of my aunt's house often enough this summer. Did you catch a glimpse of my uncle in the shower, or were you hoping to see my cousin looking through his collection of tasteless pictures?"
"What are you talking about, boy?" Alastor Moody asked. The wizard was missing an eye and the balance of his face was scar tissue with half of his nose and most of his teeth missing so his question sounded somewhat mangled.
Pointing at the witch with flashing pink hair, Harry said, "Tonks here, sneaks up to the house and peers through the windows at night."
"But I'm invisible! How can you see me?"
"Idiot," the older wizard hissed. "He got you to confess with a convincing tale."
Mrs. Weasley broke into the conversation at that moment. "Harry, we've been looking forward to your arrival. Ron and Ginny talk about you all the time."
The old Auror noticed the boy's sneer as Harry asked, "How's your head Howler Weasel?"
When Mrs Weasley didn't reply, Harry insisted, "Again, why are Weasels in Grimmauld Place?"
Ron shouted about ungrateful and selfish mudblood bastards. Ginny cried. Arthur blushed, and Molly's eyes narrowed as she decided how to discipline the boy-who-lived. The wound on her head began to ache rather than bleed, but she remained silent. It was the wizard with all the scars who explained, "This house is now the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix. We're fighting the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters. Everyone is here for their safety."
Now Auror Tonks looked behind Harry and asked, "Where's Remus? He went to bring you back here."
"A better question is where is my Dogfather?"
After asking his question, Harry noticed that Mrs. Weasley, Tonks, and other visitors exchanged uncomfortable glances while the oldest Auror maintained his calm demeanor.
Tonks muttered, "He'll feel like talking tomorrow."
"Where is Sirius Black?" Harry insisted.
"Now, Harry…" Arthur tried to begin a conversation.
"Mr. Potter!" Harry insisted.
"What? What do you mean?" asked Molly.
"None of you people are friends," Harry declared. "You will refer to me as Mr. Potter when you address me."
"Nonsense!" Mrs. Weasley said, pulling out her wand and attempting to cast a stinging hex at Harry. But it was Molly Weasley who yelped in pain and slapped her hand to her waist on the left side of her body as her wand flew through the air to land on a stair about halfway to the first floor.
"Where is Sirius Black?" demanded Harry.
"He's asleep in his room upstairs," Moody admitted. "Been drinking Fire Whiskey since breakfast."
"Drinking?" asked Harry. His voice rising in volume, the teenager demanded to know, "Who brought alcohol into this house?"
"Harry Potter! Stop your caterwauling this instant!" demanded Mrs. Weasley as she hurried up the staircase to retrieve her wand. "Sirius Black is not in his right mind, and he's aggravated the condition by drinking Fire Whiskey today. It'll be three days before he wakes up."
"There's a ward that prevents anyone from bringing any alcohol into this house! Who broke the ward?" asked Harry.
"Stop, Harry! Stop this nonsense! You will not question the adults here!" shouted Molly, who again raised her wand in the teenager's direction. This time, Molly flew back up the stairs into the hallway and her wand flew across the foyer to the hand of a gargoyle hanging on the wall. Arthur Weasley and his two youngest children climbed the stairs to care for Molly.
"Potter," the scarred veteran addressed the teenager who'd been an outstanding student the previous year at Hogwarts. "What do you mean there's a ward to keep out alcohol?"
"The house-elf was ordered to put up a ward that banished every drop of alcohol brought into this house! My godfather's recovery is dependent on staying away from alcohol. It interacts with his medicinal potions," Harry explained. He'd decided until he settled matters, he'd refer to Sirius as his godfather instead of his dog father.
"Your godfather is on potions? Are they prescribed by a licensed healer?" Moody kept asking questions.
"Yes," stated Harry. "Where…"
"How did you get inside the house? The Fidelius charm means you couldn't see it or remember where it is? Where's Remus?" asked the pink-haired witch.
Harry ignored the witch who frowned, pulled her wand from her sleeve, but kept it at her side when she repeated her questions, "How did you get inside the house? Where's Remus Lupin?"
"My godfather and I talked about Grimmauld Place many times, and I was here at Christmas. Why shouldn't I be able to enter? And I still want to know why you people are here!"
Glancing at each other uncomfortably, Moody said, "The spell on the house hides it. Have you destroyed the charm?"
"I don't know about any charm," insisted Harry. "Now, who brought Fire Whiskey into this house?"
"It was the bloody house elf!" shouted Tonks. Now pointing her wand at Harry, she demanded, "What did you do to Remus?"
When Harry refused to say anything, the witch flicked her wand forward to cast a spell. But Nymphadora's face filled with surprise as her wand flew from her hand and she flew backward to smash into a filthy cabinet filled with silver plates, bowls, and pitchers. Moody kept his eye on the teenager as a second witch moved to check on Nymphadora.
Change Scene %%With everyone's attention on Tonks, Harry hurried up the stairs and stepped over Molly Weasley who lay senseless on the floor while Arthur tried to revive her. He went immediately to one door on the hallway of the first floor, entered the room, and closed the door behind him.
Inside the room, Harry hurried to the bedside where Sirius Black lay, an occasional moan falling from the wizard's mouth. Harry shook his godfather's shoulder and called out to him. Sirius tried to wake up but then fell back against the pillow.
"Greenie!" Harry called out, the panic in his tone evident for the elf to hear.
The elf who worked for Healer Tonks popped into the room and Harry turned to her and said, "Sirius is ill. Please ask Healer Tonks to come. Bring her here."
Pulling on her ears, Greenie shook her head, "I's can't, Mr. Harry Potters. There's be a charm that keeps Greenie from bringing anyone into this house of Family Black."
Harry frowned and asked, "Can you take Sirius to her?"
"Yes, Mr. Harry Potter."
"Take him then."
Shaking her head, Greenie said, "Let Greenie check with Healer Tonks first."
Nodding, Harry said, "Yes, good thinking Greenie."
The elf popped away and while he was gone, Harry decided to start dealing with the other house-elf, "Kreacher!"
With a lackadaisical pop, the dirty elf appeared, muttering under his breath, and throwing bits of paper about the room. Apparently, the elf had an endless supply of shredded parchment he fed to the dust bunnies and dark pests that infested the corners of every room in Grimmauld Place.
"Filthy mudblood dog son calls for Kreacher."
"Did you bring Fire Whiskey into Grimmauld Place?"
Nodding his head, Kreacher replied, "Kreacher's did. Smelly White Beard said disappointing master needed Fire Whiskey. Mistress said worthless son needed Fire Whiskey."
"What orders did I give you at Yule? And we went over those same orders during the Spring Break. Do you remember?" Harry demanded to know.
The elf ignored the questions and said, "Filthy mudblood dog son says no alcohol, no kind, no brand, nots even butter beers. Worthless son to drink only water, tea, or muggle fizzy drinks."
"Did you listen to Smelly White Beard?" asked Harry, disbelief evident in his tone of voice.
Kreacher nodded and replied, "And Lady Black says that worthless son needs fire drinks."
"A painting? Are you still listening to the orders of a portrait?"
"She be Lady Black," insisted the elf.
"No, Lady Black died ten years ago. When I was here last time, we examined the urn that holds all of Lady Black's ashes and you admitted the portrait is not your dead mistress," Harry reminded the elf. "You're a stupid elf and betrayed the Black family! You took orders from an enemy and a portrait who doesn't care if the family dies. You are a bad elf!"
Kreacher folded into a small figure and Harry said, "Return to your nest and remain there until I summon you! You will listen to no other voice but mine, no matter how sweet or soothing."
The elf sat there another moment until Harry commanded, "Now!"
Kreacher vanished as the first elf reappeared. Greenie paused seeing the anger on her friend's face and waited until Harry calmed down. Then Greenie said, "Healer Tonks says bring Dogfather soonest and safest."
Nodding to the elf, the teenager said, "Take Sirius to Healer Tonks. Hide him from anyone in this Order of Glorified Turkeys."
As the elf prepared to take the befuddled wizard away, Harry asked, "What's wrong with him?"
Greenie motioned to the Fire Whiskey bottle and the empty potion bottles.
"Alcohol and befuddlement potions mixed be bad, bad," the elf said before the bottles disappeared into Greenie's pockets to give to Andromeda. "But Healer Tonks repairs and makes Dogfather better."
Greenie popped away with Sirius while Harry stared out the window of the bedroom for a moment. 'This was supposed to be a fun summer. We were going to France to play tourist until the end of August. Why can't Dumbledore leave us alone?'
Turning from the window, Harry left the room and turned back to the door to the bedroom before locking it using Black family magic. Then he strode down the hall and the stairs.
SCENE BREAKWhen Harry appeared at the top of the stairs, he found Molly Weasley struggling to descend the stairs with her husband's help. Apparently, she was suffering from a terrible headache after being thrown up the stairs.
"Harry Potter! Stop this now!" shouted Molly Weasley. "Where's my wand? Your bloody owl stole my old wand last year and I never got the money for it until we got here in June."
"You've been here since June? Why? Did someone burn down the Burrow?" he asked hopefully.
Arthur explained, "Headmaster Dumbledore activated the Order of the Phoenix when the Dark Lord came back this spring. He decided…thought we'd be safer here in the house at Grimmauld Place. The Death Eaters will start their raids again without a doubt."
"This is Sirius Black's home," Harry reminded everyone. "How did the headmaster…why did Albus Dumbledore decide to move everyone in here?"
Arthur looked uncomfortable for a moment but then Molly grabbed her husband's wand and attempted to cast a spell at Harry. Once again, the wand flew across the room and this time, everyone saw the gargoyle on the wall grab the wand, while Molly flew in the opposite direction and landed on Nymphadora Tonks in the dirty chair.
"Potter! What'd you do to my mum?" yelled Ron, who pulled out his wand before it flew away and the boy flew up the stairs. Sighing, Arthur Weasley took Ginny's wand and sent her to check on her mother while he hurried up the stairs to check on his son.
Alastor Moody backed up against the wall, away from the kitchen door, and watched Harry Potter's frown grow darker. Feeling the magical aura of the teenager growing heavier, Alastor Moody quietly slipped into the kitchen. There he pushed Emmaline Vance away from the fireplace, interrupting her attempts to place a floo call to Albus Dumbledore. The retired Auror threw a handful of floo into the flames and called out his home address. Turning to Vance, Alastor said, "Get out! Run!"
Then he leaped into the green flames and vanished from Grimmauld Place. In the foyer, the front door to the house opened and Remus Lupin hurried inside. The wizard declared, "Harry's run off!"
"No, he's not. He's standing right here," Potter replied, as he put his back against the wall opposite the front door.
"How did you get inside? How did you see the house?" Remus demanded. "Why did you throw me across the park at your aunt's home?"
"I never touched you and my magic didn't do anything to you, Lupin," Harry replied. "I see you found your wand. How long did that take? Forty minutes?"
The werewolf blushed and growled at the teenager who stared back impassively. Then Lupin noticed that Molly and Nymphadora lay in a pile atop a crushed chair. He hurried over to disentangle the two witches and help them to their feet. Ginny Weasley moved out of the way and tried not to draw anyone's attention. From the first floor landing, Arthur Weasley led Ron down the stairs and declared, "Everyone will stand down. No one raises their wand again! No one!"
Remus Lupin helped Molly to stand on shaky legs and then her husband led her back into the kitchen with both of their children following them. Remus helped Tonks to stand before he turned to Harry and again demanded, "How did you get inside the house? The Fidelius charm won't let you remember or see the house! How did you get the secret?"
"That's not important," Harry replied. "What's important is why any of you helped that despicable house-elf to bring Fire Whiskey into this house. Lupin, you know Sirius Black is on medicinal potions and can't drink alcohol! You're supposed to be his best friend!"
He looked at the witch without her pink hair for a minute and said, "Nymphadora Tonks, you're his cousin! Why did you let Sirius drink Fire Whiskey?"
No one would answer the teenager's questions and he didn't waver in the steady stare he gave everyone who would dare to meet his eyes. From the kitchen came the sound of the floo activating and loud voices filled that room for a short time. Then, the kitchen door opened and Albus Dumbledore stepped into the foyer.
SCENE BREAK HERE!When they found the kitchen deserted, Molly insisted Arthur floo call Albus Dumbledore at Hogwarts. While she dealt with a pounding headache, her husband turned to the floo. The flames in the fireplace in the headmaster's office turned green as Arthur Weasley's head appeared wrapped in flames and said, "Headmaster, we've got a situation here in London with Mr. Potter. You better come quickly."
The headmaster sighed as his afternoon was interrupted. There'd be no vacation at some warm location this summer and he feared the financing for the Tri-Wizard Tournament expenses would fall through again.
'We're a year late. I had no clues before Tom managed his resurrection in the spring and no one has seen him since. Malfoy vanished and Dolores Umbridge died needlessly,' Dumbledore thought. 'Poor Dolores. Now she can never be redeemed."
He rose and approached the fireplace, threw in floo powder, and once the flames turned green, stepped into them while wondering, "And what is the problem at Grimmauld Place?'
Stepping through the green flames, Dumbledore was subjected to an original Molly Weasley howler from two feet away.
"That 'boy' disrespected me, again!"
Her voice grew louder, "He would not obey me! I am in charge here! You said so!"
And louder still, "he stole MY wand again!"
Once some semblance of order was restored, Dumbledore noticed Auror Alastor Moody (retired) was missing. Dumbledore sent off a message to the Auror with a German spell he'd learned ninety years earlier. It appeared impressive to people who didn't know the spell.
Less than two minutes later, Alastor's English Bulldog Patronus appeared, and Moody's voice shouted, "Idiot! I told you putting Molly in charge at Grimmauld Place was a mistake!"
SCENE BREAK HERE!Walking out of the kitchen and into the foyer, Albus Dumbledore was surprised to find Tonks and Lupin standing near the pieces of an old chair and a cabinet with the silver items on the floor or laid on top of one another. Across the foyer, with his back against a wall, stood a defiant Harry Potter.
"Harry, my boy, you look well this summer!" Dumbledore declared with a smile on his face and the usual twinkle in his eye. As he asked questions about how the boy came to be in Grimmauld Place today, Albus slowly raised his wand from his side and cast a silent compulsion spell toward the teenager. The wand leapt from the headmaster's hand and flew again into the hand of a gargoyle hanging on the wall while the wizard flew backward, through the kitchen door where Molly and Arthur Weasley helped him back onto his feet.
"My wand! Where's my wand?" Dumbledore asked, pulling away from the Weasleys and hurrying back through the kitchen door with the Weasleys following behind.
The headmaster demanded, "Harry, where's my wand?"
"Potter. Refer to me as Mr. Potter," Harry insisted.
Dumbledore sighed and repeated his question, "Where's my wand? I must have my wand!"
"Why did you tell the house-elf to bring Fire Whiskey into this house?" asked Harry, ignoring the headmaster's question about his wand.
"Harry…"
"Potter!" the teenager insisted.
Sighing, Albus Dumbledore repeated the question, "Mr. Potter, where is my wand?"
Shaking his head, Harry replied, "I don't know."
He looked around the room and bent over to check underneath a chair near the door, before standing and saying, "There's no sign of any wands over here. Now, answer my question."
"I'm your headmaster and don't answer to you."
"It's July. And Hogwarts is not in session. You're an uninvited guest in my godfather's home. Now answer my question," insisted Harry.
Dumbledore replied, "Ah…well you see, Sirius did invite me and all the members of the Order of the Phoenix to live here until the Dark Lord is dealt with."
"You're the darkest Dark Lord I know. How are we supposed to deal with you?" Harry quipped.
"Stop this nonsense! I'm not a dark lord! And you know perfectly well that Tom Riddle returned this spring! The supporters of the light must have a safe place to live."
"What do you mean 'live'? These people – the Weasels – are not staying here!"
Dumbledore smiled and said, "But I just told you that Sirius agreed that the Weasley family and other members of the Order of the Phoenix could live here while we deal with Tom Riddle. They'll eat, sleep, and meet here. And this is an excellent opportunity for you to apologize to the Weasleys and become friends with Ron and Ginny again. Molly especially wants to fatten you up this summer."
Harry's lips tightened and his occlumency shields went to maximum strength. 'I can't reveal our secrets. How in the world did he get the Fidelius on this house with all the Black family charms sitting on it? Did he develop a new variation of the charm?'
Glancing at the form of Molly Weasley who vibrated with anger to hear the boy speak to the headmaster so disrespectfully. Harry considered the value of his secrets versus the satisfaction of throwing the witch and her brats into the street.
After a moment, Harry declared, "We won't pay for the food."
Arthur spoke up, "But Sirius agreed to pay for the food and drink we needed."
"With what money, Mr. Weasley? The Black family vaults don't support any house now with unlimited funds. The economy of Magical Britain has been slow to recover if you read the Daily Profit Supplement. Very little has changed financially."
"Well, I'll loan Sirius the money from Hogwarts accounts until Gringotts opens the Black accounts," Dumbledore said. "Sirius can sign a letter that obligates his vaults to pay later."
Harry frowned and replied, "When will that be? My godfather was dosed with befuddlement potions combined with Fire Whiskey today. Gringotts and that person managing the Black vaults will challenge his signature on any document he signs from now until Christmas."
Staring at Molly and Arthur Weasley, Harry said, "My godfather has been dosed with potions combined with alcohol. It might take months for him to recover. Your Weasels are running amok in the henhouse, Headmaster."
The frown on the headmaster's face made Harry believe the man hadn't suggested or approved the use of potions on Sirius Black this early in the summer. As he turned toward the stairs, Harry suggested, "Perhaps you should reconsider this arrangement, Headmaster."
"Harry! Sirius gave his word! Like a magical contract! If you say he's not capable of entering a magical contract, he'll go back to Saint Mungo's," called out Dumbledore. "And where's my wand? You must return it immediately!"
Growling in the back of his throat, Harry stopped and turned back around. "Contract, eh?"
The teenager frowned, sighed as though surrendering, and conceded, "Then I suppose your Order of Glorified Turkeys may use the ground floor and first floor. The library and everything above the first floor are off-limits. Don't let them try to breach the wards or everyone will be dead or in Saint Mungo's for a month recovering. Now, go to the kitchen and I'll come down after checking on Sirius again."
"Wands, Mr. Potter! We must have our wands!" shouted Dumbledore but Harry disappeared up the stairs without another comment.
To the concerned wizards and witches around him, Albus assured them, "We'll get our wand back when he comes back down."
The headmaster and his minions returned to the kitchen. Dumbledore sat down and planned his next conversation with Harry.
End SCENE