Disclaimer: I do not own harry Potter.
Chapter 38 – The Godfather
Harry awoke slowly at first before snapping his eyes open as the events of a few minutes ago, or so he assumed them to be, caught up with him. Sitting bolt upright Harry's head swam and he groaned, allowing himself to be pushed back down.
"Careful!" He recognized that voice and was comforted to know that Aldora was there. Although he didn't think of her as his mother, she was the only mother figure he'd ever known and had been there at his bedside for every illness and injury since he was seven years old. Having her here now only seemed right.
"Everything hurts." He moaned pathetically. "Even my hair hurts. How can my hair hurt?"
"Stop being so dramatic." Aldora admonished, placing his glasses gently on his face and helping him to sit up slowly this time. Once sitting Harry could see the rest of the room and his eyes were immediately drawn to the bed across from his.
"Ginny!" He gasped, lurching forward only to have a strong hand on his shoulder stop him. Harry looked up and saw a scowling Sirius Black, though this Sirius Black looked different. While still gaunt, skeletal even, and certainly still haunted, he'd obviously had a shower and wiped the grime of Azkaban and the Dark Forest off him. His clothes were also no longer the rags of an inmate but clean and Harry swore he recognized the coat before realizing that Remus must have lent Sirius some of his clothes. The change was astounding. His godfather looked several years younger and Harry could see the remnants of the handsome man he'd once been, and would one day be again. "You're still here." He said stupidly.
"Of course I'm still here." Sirius sounded affronted. "You're my godson. I left you once before and look what happened. I'm not leaving you again." Harry smiled slightly before turning back to Ginny who was sitting up in bed as well, her parents at her side.
"Are you alright?" Ginny nodded.
"I was so worried about you, though." She said. "You've been asleep for three days."
"Three days?!"
"You slept for two days yourself, Ginny." Mrs. Weasley said gently and Ginny scowled.
"Still better than three." She muttered, shooting Harry a look and though she sounded put out, he could see the relief in her eyes.
"But you're really alright?" He had to ask. "Why are you still in bed if you're fine and woke up yesterday?"
"Why do you think?" She scowled again, this time looking towards the school matron who was brusquely making her way towards Harry.
"Your opinion in this matter does not concern me, Miss Weasley." Said Madam Pomfrey. Clearly she'd heard Ginny, but hadn't even looked at her, choosing instead of run her wand over Harry, casting several spells that by now he recognized as diagnostic spells. "You nearly depleted your magical core, something that, at best, would have rendered you a squib, though more than likely would have merely killed you. And you," She shot at Harry when his eyes widened in panic. "Are even worse. So do not expect to be leaving that bed for a week."
"A week?!"
"At minimum!" Madam Pomfrey had always been a no-nonsense healer so Harry wasn't sure why he'd thought she'd be lenient now. "As impressive as your ability to cast such an advanced charm is, such magic takes a great deal of power, the strength of which neither of you, as adolescents, have yet. You may have found the power you needed, given the seriousness of the situation, but it used up nearly every ounce of magic you had in you, leaving barely enough to keep yourself alive. You need plenty of rest, and in fact I would be surprised if you found even the strength to stand for the next few days, your magic is that depleted." Harry was about to protest, determined to stand and prove her wrong, but realized very quickly that he hadn't even the strength to swing his legs over the side of the bed. Madam Pomfrey seemed to know what he was thinking and so nodded, handed Harry a potion, and then took off back to her office. Aldora helped Harry with take the potion when it looked like even that was beyond him at the moment. Lying back down, Harry did the only thing he felt capable of and closed his eyes, falling back to sleep.
-H/G-
When Harry awoke again it was to the sound of raised voices.
"Brilliant, Snape. Once again you've put your keen an penetrating mind to the task and, as usual, come to the wrong conclusion!" Harry lifted his head and saw Snape squaring off against Sirius, with Remus standing off to the side, looking much put out by the two of them. "Now if you'll excuse us, the adults have important matters to discuss." Snape made a move that looked like he was about to pull his wand, but Remus placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Severus, don't be a fool."
"He can't help it, it's habit by now."
"Sirius, be quiet!"
"Oh, you be quiet, Remus!" The defense professor threw his arms up in the air and went to stand against the wall, determined to just let them have it out.
"Listen to the two of you, quarreling like an old married couple." Snape said his first words since Harry awoke.
"At least I have a friend to quarrel with." Sirius spat back. Harry wasn't sure exactly what had happened between them, but there was certainly a hatred there that ran deep.
"Oh yes, I know all about your friendships. One that would have seen to the death of a sixteen-year-old boy, had one such friend not realized that Azkaban awaited if your oh so hilarious prank succeeded." Snape sneered. "Pity you didn't know what a ray of sunshine Azkaban was beforehand, perhaps if you had you would have thought twice about murdering a classmate."
"Why don't you just run along and play with your chemistry set?" Harry had heard enough. Raising himself up he croaked for them to stop, though no one heard him.
"Such a witty come back. What? Nothing meaningful to say when faced with the truth?"
"Stop." Harry cleared his throat, his voice getting louder, but not loud enough.
"You wish to speak of truths? You? You who spent all seven years of our schooling trying to discredit James by any means necessary? You who joined Voldemort because torture, murder and planned mass genocide, had he succeeded in wiping out all muggleborns, was the only way to have friends?"
"Stop."
"You who hated James so much it's a wonder Harry's still alive having been around you for almost three years? Well, let me tell you something, Snivellus, I-"
"Stop!" Harry finally managed a shout and drew the attention of the three adults.
"Harry!" Sirius' entire demeanour changed and he was by Harry's side in an instant, though hesitated as Harry glared at him.
"Look, clearly there's a lot of history between you two, and I admit that no one could claim that Professor Snape is nice or friendly, but don't you dare suggest that he would hurt me, or any of his students." Sirius was taken aback. "Professor Snape has been protecting me and helping me since first year. He's given up his own time to teach us and give us our best shot at defeating Voldemort, while you haven't been any help since my parents died. I know it wasn't by choice, at least the twelve years weren't, but you did make the choice to go after Pettigrew that day instead of take care of me. No matter how distraught you were, it was still a choice, one that saw me spend six years in hell with Aunt Petunia before Cornelius and Aldora took me in, so don't stand there and attack someone who, despite being a complete git at times – sorry, Professor – was here for me when you weren't." Silence reigned. Sirius clearly didn't know what to say and neither did Remus, who despite having started to get to know Harry again had never heard of any of Snape's involvement with him beyond potions class. Snape himself wore a shocked expression, reminiscent of his look down in the Chamber of Secrets when Harry had essentially given him a thousand-year-old basilisk to use as potion ingredients. The expression was gone just a quickly as it was the last time though, and while Snape met his eyes, Harry couldn't figure out what else he might be thinking. He thought he may have seen a bit of respect, or even thanks, in Snape's eyes, but if he had it was fleeting, and Snape himself didn't stick around either, choosing instead of turn and leave the hospital wing.
"James' son having respect for Snivellus…what has the world come to?" Sirius muttered, though quickly shut up when both Harry and Remus glared at him.
"You really are a complete arsehole sometimes, you know that?" Remus asked rhetorically.
"I've been locked in Azkaban for twelve years." He growled in return. "So excuse me if my manners aren't up to snuff."
"Azkaban has nothing to do with it, you've always hated Severus." Harry sighed as the two continued to bicker. He looked over to Ginny who was wide awake and looking quite amused by the whole thing, though the smile she gave Harry showed how proud she was of his defense of Snape. Thankfully, before the bickering could give him a migraine, the doors to the hospital wing opened and Aldora and Cornelius walked in, followed by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Madam Pomfrey. Harry suspected that the matron had been discussing his and Ginny's recovery with their parents and guardians, or at least he did, until he could see the anger, apprehension, and even sorrow in Aldora and Cornelius' expressions.
"What's wrong?" He asked straight away and the seriousness in his voice had Remus and Sirius end their argument and pay attention. Aldora's lips thinned and Cornelius cleared his throat.
"It appears that with the return of Mr. Black here, Aldora and I are no longer recognized as your guardians." Cornelius explained.
"What?" Harry was confused.
"Being a godparent in the wizarding world is not the same as in the muggle one, Harry." He continued. "In the muggle world it has to do with religion, but it is, in essence, merely a title that holds no weight beyond what people give it. Here in the wizarding world, however, it is a magically binding contract. As your godfather, Mr. Black will have had to swear on his magic to protect you and raise you should your parents not be able to. As such, the Ministry recognizes this as legal guardianship in the absence of parents."
"Or split guardianship, had you had a godmother." Aldora added.
"Alice Longbottom would have been your godmother." Sirius spoke up. "She and Lily grew quite close after Hogwarts, both fighting Voldemort and having their children so close together. For one reason or another, though, every time the swearing ceremony was to be held something got in the way, and then both families went into hiding…and we know how that ended." Harry nodded, thinking of Neville and how they could have grown up together, possibly even as brothers, if things had been just a bit different.
"Yes, well, when Mr. Black was arrested his guardianship was instantly nullified, but when the Wizengamot exonerated him, that all changed." Said Cornelius.
"As there is now no reason, legally speaking, that he cannot fulfill his duties as your guardian, the magic that binds him as a godfather has, for lack of a better word, reclaimed his guardianship of you." Aldora looked near tears.
"The records at the Ministry, and those here at Hogwarts have changed to reflect this." The Minister added. "And so Madam Pomfrey could not discuss your condition with us, as we are no longer your guardians." Harry wasn't entirely sure what to think. No, that wasn't entirely true, he was angry on behalf of the two who had taken him in, had cared for him, and whom in the last year he saw genuinely cared for him, and not just in the physical sense of providing a roof over his head, food to eat, and clothes to wear.
"No, that's not…that's not fair! Does this mean I have to go live with him?" Harry saw a flash of hurt cross Sirius' face, but he didn't feel particularly guilty. "I mean no offense, Mr. Black, but I don't know you, and until a week ago I thought you a mass murderer who betrayed my parents and was trying to kill me." The hurt left Sirius' face at that reasoning, though he still looked sad. "I'm not saying I want nothing to do with you. I'd like to get to know my godfather, but I don't want to live with you. Not now at least. Aldora and Cornelius have raised me since I was seven-years-old and I want to stay with them." Aldora was crying now, and even Cornelius looked a bit choked up. Harry looked at Sirius, and he at Harry, both trying to read the other. Finally, Sirius sighed and knelt before Harry.
"Is this what you truly want?" He asked, looking for any sign that Harry was just saying this because the two of them were standing right there. Harry nodded resolutely. "Then I, Sirius Orion Black, do hereby relinquish my custodial rights as godfather to Harry James Potter, and entrust his care to Cornelius and Aldora Fudge, for so long as I deem them worthy guardians." There was a rush of wind and Harry looked around for the source before realizing it was magic. "But how?" Harry was confused, Sirius didn't even have a wand.
"Some magic runs so deep a wand isn't necessary." Sirius rightly guessed where his confusion stemmed from. "I hope you continue to be happy with them." He smiled sadly. "I will always be here, should you need me, I'm not going anywhere ever again. And I hope you'll allow me to visit you sometimes." Without thinking Harry lurched forward and wrapped his arms around his godfather.
"Thank you." He whispered, and after a moment of surprise Sirius returned the hug.
A/N - Definitely not the end of Sirius Black, but I needed Harry to stay with the Fudges, and I genuinely think he'd be hesitant to just live with Sirius as, unlike in canon, he's not living with the Dursleys where basically anything would be better.
Review please!
