Chapter 21: Padfoot Returns
Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione arrived back to the Burrow to find Mrs. Weasley had nodded off in one of the kitchen chairs, knitting what were presumably baby booties by hand.
Ginny groaned, "Oh, not already, mum!"
Mrs. Weasley awoke with a start, and her needles began to click once again out of habit.
"What, dear? I wasn't sleeping, I was just… um—"
"Getting ready for more Weasleys, huh mum?" grinned Ron, cheekily.
"I was not!" cried Mrs. Weasley indignantly.
"Of course you weren't, Mrs. Weasley," said Hermione, patting her shoulder consolingly. "…You were preparing for little half-Weasley, half-Potters."
Mrs. Weasley blushed, "Oh, not you, too, Hermione!"
Hermione shrugged as Ron gaped at her, and proceeded to busy herself at the stove to make tea for them all before they turned in for the night.
"Would you all like some tea?" asked Mrs. Weasley, still behind the moment.
"Already on it, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione called from the stove.
"Oh, are you Hermione? That's nice of you, dear. So, how did it go?"
Ginny grinned, and showed her mother the new silver crescent moon on her chest.
"It marked you? I didn't know it would do that. That must have been a very powerful Binding Spell you invoked, dear."
Harry nodded, and said "A powerful spell for a powerful witch, Mum."
Mrs. Weasley smiled, and sighed, "Oh, Harry, I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing you call me 'mum'."
Mrs. Weasley wiped tears from her eyes as she walked around the kitchen and hugged each of her children, biological, in-law and surrogate alike. Hermione brought the tea and biscuits to the table, but Mrs. Weasley waved the kettle away when it hovered over to her cup.
"I think I'm ready for bed, so I won't be having any tea, Hermione. Thank you for making it though, dear, it smells lovely. I just wanted to say how happy I am and see that you all made it home without splinching yourselves."
"We took a portkey, mum, we can't apparate yet!" said Ron, his mouth full of biscuit.
"Yes, I know that, Ronald, dear, I just worry."
Mrs. Weasley made one last round about the kitchen giving everyone a last hug before she traipsed up the stairs with her knitting needles still in hand.
"Oh, Ginny, dear?" she called, from half way up, "Dad and I set you and Harry up in Percy's old room, seeing as Percy obviously won't need it. You can head there when you're ready to turn in, and Hermione can keep your room to herself."
Harry grinned cheekily at Ginny as she blushed furiously and called, "Ok mum, um, thanks!"
Quietly stepping to the door, Hermione peeked up the stairs to make sure Mrs. Weasley was out of sight before she exclaimed,
"Ron! Your mum was absolutely pissed!"
Ginny snorted, and Harry snarfed in his tea while Ron merely shrugged.
"Well, what can you expect? Her "baby Gin-Gin" just changed her name and married the most wanted wizard in Britain.
"Now that I think about it, hitting the bottle doesn't sound like such a bad idea when you put it that way."
Hermione sighed and sipped her tea.
"Oh come on, Hermy!" cried Harry. "You have to admit it—"
"Admit what, Harry?" asked Hermione testily.
"That Mrs. Weasley was knitting baby booties in the kitchen in the middle of the night the Muggle way because she was too drunk to do them by magic—"
"That it's insane to think that she has finally realized that Percy isn't coming back without the influence of Firewhiskey—" Ginny added.
"That Mum would willingly set up the room for Harry and Gin to sleep in together without a fight—" chipped in Ron.
"That it's hilarious to see your mum finally hit reality because she was completely minged?" asked Hermione, her nose twitching. "Admit that? You can't make me…"
She burst out laughing, and the other three joined her.
Before Harry knew it Christmas had arrived, and he and Ginny had spent five blissful nights together in their new room at The Burrow. The morning dawned crisp and fresh, and dozens of packages had found their way to the foot of Harry and Ginny's bed.
"Happy Christmas, Gin," grinned Harry sleepily as he opened his eyes.
"Mmumph…" came Ginny's reply as she rolled over and went back to sleep.
Harry shrugged, and grabbed his first present. Sighing happily, he was about to open the wrapping when he realized that this was the first Christmas where he hadn't been awoken by Ron at the crack of dawn hollering about gifts. Glancing toward his sleeping wife he smiled, quietly donned his dressing gown and made his way up the stairs to Ron's room. Opening the door softly he found Ron still sleeping, packages piled high on the foot of his bed and some knocked to the floor.
"Happy Christmas, Ron!" cried Harry, laughing at the sight of Ron jumping and falling off the bed.
"Merlin, mate! You scared me half to death!"
Ron collected himself, and grabbed his dressing gown. Pulling it on, he turned back to his bed.
"Presents! Hey- why aren't you opening yours with Ginny?"
Harry shrugged and gazed towards his feet. "She was still sleeping, and… well, I always open presents with you on Christmas. I don't see why this year should be any different."
Ron grinned, "Aw, Harry, you're getting sappy in your married life. Tell you what, mate, I'll go get Hermione and you can wake Gin up. We'll open presents together in your room."
Harry nodded, and bounded back down the stairs to find Ginny still asleep and hugging his pillow in his absence. He wrenched it from her and laughed as she groped for it in her sleep.
"Morning, sunshine," Harry said softly as he leaned over to smooth back her hair and kiss her forehead. "It's Christmas!"
"Krimphmas?" Ginny mumbled.
"Yup, Christmas. You have to get up now, because Ron and Hermione are coming in so we can open presents together."
With much more coaxing Ginny finally sat up and grabbed her dressing gown from Harry with a yawn.
"Hermi-mi-mione's coming, too?" Ginny asked in the middle of a yawn.
Harry laughed, "Yes, love, Mi-mi-mione's coming, too."
Ginny glared at him as the door opened, Ron and Hermione traipsing in with Hermione groggily levitating their presents to the foot of the bed.
"Harry wake you up as well?" she asked the bed-tousled redhead, giving Ron an annoyed look.
Ginny nodded, "Boys don't know how nice it is to sleep in on Christmas. Open my present first, Hermione."
One by one the pile of gifts diminished until there were none left. The group was almost ready to go downstairs for breakfast when Harry pulled out his packages for them to open last.
"Sorry, I forgot to put them out for you guys. I hope you like them."
"Cheers, mate!" cried Ron, tearing open the wrapping. "And here I thought you forgot—oh, bugger, Harry, you DIDN'T!"
"Didn't what?" asked Hermione, leaning over Ron's shoulder.
"He got me FIREBOLT STOCK! Harry, mate, you're the best friend a bloke could ask for! I'm going to be RICH! I hear they're starting a new line…"
Ginny smiled appreciatively, and kissed Harry on the cheek as Ron continued on about all the possibilities the stock could bring him.
"That was a thoughtful gift, Harry. You know how Ron loves his brooms…"
"And his money," commented Harry, as much to himself as anyone else. "Here, Hermione, Gin, you guys can open yours together."
He passed the two small packages from Madam Amanda's shop carefully to each of the girls, and Ron tore his eyes away from his stockholder's certificate to see what they had gotten. The paper fell away and the girls both gasped at their gifts.
"Harry! This is gorgeous!" cried Ginny, picking it up to admire in the light.
"Oooh, Harry, I love it!" breathed Hermione.
The girls smiled at one another, and Hermione turned around so Ginny could fasten the gold embossed Aster hair clip in her curls.
"They're your birth flowers," Harry told them, as Hermione clipped a silver edged Lily of the Valley comb into Ginny's hair.
"The Aster one is supposed to be a Protection Talisman, and if you burn the real flowers they're supposed to ward off snakes. I thought it would be good, what with Voldemort and his snakes slithering around."
Hermione grinned, "Pretty and practical!"
"What's mine for?" asked Ginny, admiring it in the mirror Hermione had grabbed from the bedside table.
Harry blushed, and mumbled something that no one could quite understand.
"Harry! Don't be shy, just tell me!"
Turning an even deeper crimson, Harry said "It's Lily of the Valley- it's the flower of your birth month: May. It means "innocence" and it symbolizes the "return of happiness".
"I thought it was fitting, because, well… you make me happy, and I don't ever remember being happy like this before."
Ginny smiled, and blinked back a few tears. "I adore it, Harry. I can't wait to show Mum."
The group traipsed downstairs pajama, slipper and dressing gown clad as all good children are on Christmas morning. Ginny and Hermione ran straight to Mrs. Weasley to show her their new gifts from Ron and Harry while Ron sat down at the kitchen table and helped himself to Christmas breakfast muffins. Harry, seeking to avoid being bum-rushed by the any of the Weasleys about his presents made himself a large mug of tea and stared aimlessly around the kitchen for something to look at that wasn't Hermione and Ginny showing off.
The Weasley kitchen, belonging to a household of wizards was, in Harry's opinion, one of the best rooms in the world to find things to look at in. There was the enchanted mirror over the mantle, the various spellbooks on the shelves, moving pictures of every Weasley family member at various stages of life (excluding Percy, of course, who had appeared to have walked or crawled out of every one), the dishes washing themselves in the sink and, of course, the clock. Harry loved the Grandfather Clock that rested in the hallway between the Weasley's kitchen and living room. It could tell him all sorts of useful things like, for instance, the twins were "traveling", presumably on their way over from Diagon Alley for Christmas breakfast. Percy's hand had been pointing at "lost" for many months now- Harry supposed it was due to the fact that the family couldn't contact him, no matter how hard they tried- he was "lost" as far as the clock was concerned.
But there was something new about the clock that Harry couldn't place. He looked at its many hands- the twins' now pointed to "home"- and smiled at each familiar face. Arthur was "sleeping" along with Charlie and Bill. Ron, Ginny and Molly all pointed satisfactorily at "home" along with the twins (who were currently bounding around the kitchen passing out gifts), and Harry and Hermione were both pointed at—
Harry gasped, and beckoned Hermione to his side. He pointed his chin towards the clock and watched Hermione's face as she looked to see what he was on about. Much sooner than Harry, she had discovered what had been added to the clock. A wide smile lit up her face and her eyes sparkled with happy tears. She turned to Harry who smiled back at her with an equally soppy grin.
A warm set of arms embraced them together from behind, and kissed them each in turn on the cheek.
"Happy Christmas, you two," smiled Molly, her eyes brimming with tears. "Welcome home."
The rest of Christmas day was spent lazing about, playing with and admiring everyone's new gifts. Charlie had arrived from Romania just in time to harass Harry a bit about "cradle robbing" his baby sister, but it was all in good fun. After dinner a strange owl tapped at the pane, and Ron hopped up to open it. The owl hopped in with a grateful hoot, and along with it came several other owls swooping in bearing four long, thin packages.
"Anyone order extra gifts?" asked Charlie.
"Fred, George!" scolded Mrs. Weasley, "I thought I asked you not to have your supplies shipped here! If they're illegal, I'd prefer not to know about it!"
"It wasn't us, mum!" cried George.
"Yeah, mum, look! The letter's addressed to Harry," added Fred.
He handed it over, and Harry opened it gingerly, as if fearing it would explode.
"Who's it from, Harry?" asked Ginny, standing on her tiptoes in attempt to see over his shoulder.
"It's from the Firebolt Broom Line Company," Harry informed her, shrugging. "I don't know what they could be sending me, I already got my and Ron's stock certificates."
"Well, what does it say, dear?" prompted Mrs. Weasley, poking the packages suspiciously with her wand.
"Um… well, it's really long, but," Harry scanned down the letter, "oh, bugger. I hope this isn't what I think it is."
"What, Harry?" asked Hermione, nervously as she ran dark detecting charms over the packages with Bill.
"They want to thank me for my 'generous stock purchase' and hope that I will be happy with my investment."
"What else does the letter say, mate?" asked Ron, still trying to pull Hermione away in case the boxes were really a practical joke and decided to explode.
"Um, let me look…" Harry scanned down the letter once more, and came to a paragraph holding the information he needed.
"Oh, bugger! I can't believe it- they want me to promote their new broom line."
"New broom line?" asked Charlie, rushing over.
"Yeah, um, they made a new broom line and would like to pay me to promote it. I bet they were going to solicit me any way, but I guess since I bought the stock they probably thought I would jump at the chance to be Poster Boy for their line."
"That's not so bad then, Harry," Ginny said, thoughtfully nodding her head. "So what are they?"
"BROOMS, Gin!" cried Ron. "Honestly!"
"I KNOW that, Ron, but what KIND? And why would they want Harry to promote them, and not someone professional like Viktor Krum?"
Meanwhile Charlie had been ripping off the wrapping of the first package. He let out a hearty laugh, and passed the newly unwrapped and gleaming broom to his sister.
"Here, Snap-Dragon, see for yourself."
Ginny held it carefully, and her eyes beamed at the beauty of the craftsmanship.
"It's the name- the new line. It's called the "Lightning Bolt". That's why they want you to promote it, Harry."
Harry groaned, "Clever. Very clever. Just their luck I have a nice little scar to be a walking billboard for them. I bet they did it on purpose- I can't believe they'd stoop so low."
"Are you saying you're not going to do it, mate?" cried Ron in outrage.
"Hell no, I'm not! The last thing I need is for Draco to find out about this, seeing as we just finally started being civil to one another."
Hermione nodded, and then sighed. "I guess we'll have to send the brooms back, then. It wouldn't be proper to keep them and not promote the line. It's too bad, really- I rather liked your Firebolt, Harry, and these Lightning Bolts look even better."
"Come off it, Hermione!" Harry cried, scandalized. "There's no WAY I'm going to trade the broom Sirius got me- not for all the Gold in the world!
"I bet he only reason they thought of naming the new line "Lightning Bolt" is because I bought stock from them. I wish I never would have thought of it."
"Come on now, mate!" pleaded Ron. "That was the best gift I've ever gotten! You don't mean that."
"I mean it, Ron. I'm not selling out. It's bad enough the Ministry is trying to use me to keep the public from voting Fudge out of office- but now Quidditch companies, too? It's too much."
Ron sighed, recognizing defeat. He slouched to the table and stroked the broom longingly before wrapping it back up.
"Hermione's right, then, we'll have to send them back."
It was at this moment that Ginny shook out of her broom-induced reverie.
"WHAT! No way. I've never even had a new pair of socks in my life, much less a broom. I won't do it."
"But Gin—"
"Harry James Potter, if you even THINK about making us send these brooms back you are going to find yourself sleeping on the couch until you're as old as Dumbledore!"
"But Gin—"
"No buts about it, Harry! This is a good opportunity for all of us. You can get a little extra money for our children, Ron, Hermione and I all get new brooms—"
"But GIN—"
"But Harry," Ginny cooed, "you can donate 75 of your earnings to St. Mungos or some other charity of your fancy."
Harry paused, considering the matter. "I can?"
"Of course, Harry!" interjected Hermione. "And you could negotiate with Firebolt to have all of us in the photos if you want- that way you won't have to do it alone."
"Promise?"
"Promise!" cried his three friends, all jumping on top of him to swallow him in hugs.
Harry sat down to write his acceptance to Firebolt's offer, with the providence that all his terms and conditions were met, while Ron, Ginny and Hermione went to the living room to examine their new presents.
"I never thought you'd like brooms, Hermione!" cried Ron, nearly jumping with excitement.
"Well," she offered, "I'm going to need one for the school's new escape plans, and there's no way I'd be able to fly on an old school broom. I think that's the reason I hated flying so much in the first place."
"You know," Ginny added thoughtfully, "the Chief Executive Warlocks at the Firebolt Company sure are smart."
"How so?" asked Ron, while examining the tail of his broom under a magnifying glass. "Look- each twig has its own serial number!"
Hermione grinned. "They know Harry pretty well because of all the trash Rita Skeeter talks. They knew he'd never do it unless he had some MAJOR persuasion- that's why they sent four brooms instead of just one."
Ginny nodded. "Exactly. They knew it would be easy for Harry to just turn it down, but if refusing their offer meant hurting our chances at getting brooms, too, he would have to accept."
Ron looked up and smiled. "It's nice to know that my best mate is so damned predictable that even a large corporation with no personal relationship with Harry knows just how to persuade him- Quidditch supplies and baiting him through his friends."
"Good thing Voldemort doesn't own a broom company, " Hermione offered.
As the sun set, Mr. Weasley stoked the fire and the family spent a contented evening lounging in its warmth and enjoying other quiet activities. Mrs. Weasley was braiding Hermione's hair ("Ginny wouldn't let me touch her hair after she turned eight! How do you manage with it so thick, dear?"), Ron was playing Mr. Weasley at chess ("Aha! Check! That's exactly what the Ferret did, Dad!"), the twins were working on the rug, prodding a new experiment (BOOM!), Bill and Charlie were reading ("Charms, Curses and Counter-Jinxes" and "Dragon Daily", respectively) and Harry was resting his head comfortably in Ginny's lap while he wandlessly levitated a book for her to read (thus leaving her hands free to rub his head).
It didn't take long for Harry to doze off…
He was back in the Department of Mysteries, hauling Neville up the steps. Harry knew the Prophecy had just smashed, and Dumbledore had just arrived. He also knew it was a dream, and yet he could do nothing different than he had in his memories, no matter how hard he tried. He heard Sirius laughing at Bellatrix Lestrange as she shot a stunner at him.
"Come on, you can do better than that!"
Harry watched, horror struck, as the second red jet of light hit his Godfather squarely in the chest and Sirius's eyes widened in shock. Once again, Harry released Neville, just like he had a million times before in the dreams where he revisited his Godfather's death, and once again he bolted down the stairs toward the stone dais. It seemed that the conscious part of Harry's brain knew that although he was dreaming, and although there was nothing he could do to stop Sirius from falling through the veil, his unconscious was screaming at him to try.
He heard Bellatrix's triumphant scream, and waited for Lupin to reach out and begin to restrain him, like he always did- it never came. Time stood still, and Harry remained the only one moving. He had reached the arch when his mind screamed for him to stop. Skidding to a halt, he looked around at those remaining in the chamber- every one was frozen in their tracks.
'Odd. Normally I wake up screaming before this…Come to think of it- this has never happened before.'
Harry knew what he had to do. Stepping bravely, one foot after the other, he brushed the veil aside and stepped through to the other side where he now knew the Deceasengamot would be waiting. They were all present- his parents, Cedric and dozens of other wizards he didn't know. Harry watched the dais- he knew it would be pointless to try and talk to the High Court of the Deceased. It seemed like ages before anything happened, but suddenly there was a blast of wind and a body came soaring through the arch. Long, dark hair covered the man's face, but to Harry there was no mistaking the once elegant robes and the hands that could change at will into big, puppy paws.
Harry was finally about to learn what had happened to Sirius Black after he fell through the veil.
Dumbstruck, Harry floated toward the body and sobbed in frustration as his hand passed through Sirius's torso as if Harry were no more than a ghost. There seemed to be no concept of time in the land of the dead, and so Harry waited for what must have been hours (but really only seemed like minutes) before Sirius began to stir. He gasped a long, raspy breath before jumping to his feet, wand drawn into a battle stance.
"Impedi—huh?"
Harry chocked back a sob- Sirius didn't die behind the veil! He was still alive!
"Sirius Black…" began an old bearded wizard Harry had never seen before, "I wondered when we would judge your fate."
"My fate? What the hell are you talking about?" Sirius cried, obviously confused about what on earth was going on.
"Ah, but we aren't in Hell are we, Padfoot old friend? At least, not yet any way."
James rose from his seat, Lily stood next to him holding his hand. Harry was dumbstruck- he couldn't believe what he was seeing- his father's eyes had turned to ice, and his mother was looking daggers towards the man in the center of the semi-circle.
"J-James? Lily? What's going on?"
"I'm inclined to ask the same of you, Sirius!" Lily admonished. "You were supposed to take care of Harry!"
"But, I— I DID!" he stammered, clearly not understanding. "I took care of Harry! I broke out of Azkaban so I could take care of him- I loved him like he was my own son, Lils, you know that!"
"Honestly, Padfoot, making up lies?" added James, shaking his head, "I thought you were better than that."
The old wizard coughed, and James and Lily sat down.
"Sirius Black, you have been sent here by the Wizengamot to hold trial for leading a life of betrayal and committing double murder, an account so grievous that it is no wonder the High Court of the Living sent you here for us to deal with."
"Sent here? High Court? What on earth—now wait just a minute! I wasn't SENT here- I was HEXED here by that bitch, Bellatrix Lestrange when we came to save Harry from Voldemort!"
The wizard raised an eyebrow curiously, but continued on. "Be that as it may, all we see is black and white, evil and innocence. Only the righteous may pass through the veil and survive. Only the untainted may judge in this courtroom. Do you deny your traitorous actions?"
"Traitorous act—YES I DENY IT!" Sirius bellowed. "James, Lily! You know it wasn't me! Peter was your secret keeper—TELL HIM PRONGS!"
"Tell him what, Padfoot!" James cried, throwing his hands up in the air. "Tell him that you convinced us to have Peter be our Secret Keeper so he could out us to the Lord of Sod on your orders? Tell him how you used Peter as your alibi to cover your allegiance to Voldemort? Tell him how you left our son to be raised by the Dursleys and rejoin the wizarding world bruised and broken? How could you, Sirius?"
Harry was flabbergasted. How could this be happening? Didn't his parents realize that nearly 16 years had passed since they had died? Didn't they know the truth?
"He's INNOCENT!" he screamed, though he knew it was useless.
Sirius rushed forward to where James was sitting, and pulled up his left sleeve.
"Do you see a Dark Mark, Prongs? Lily, I was there by your side in the delivery room for 7 hours helping you to deliver Harry after James fainted! I thought Peter was the perfect bluff—who would suspect him? I would NEVER betray you- you know that! Peter was the one that sided with the Dark Tosser!
"Fudge sent me to Azkaban WITHOUT A TRAIL! I was there for 12 years! The only thing that kept me sane was knowing I was innocent! I broke out and swam to shore as Padfoot, hunted down Harry and took care of him ever since he was 13. He'll be 16 next month! I already bought his birthday present!"
James and Lily looked horrorstruck.
"12 years in Azkaban? You did that?" Lily whispered. "For US?"
"Yes!" Sirius cried, exasperatedly.
"Twelve years? The last trial we've had was Andrawlson, and that was the first after we got here…Cedric arrived just before that, but of course, he wouldn't have known about Padfoot…
"The lack of time-space continuum… …I believe you, friend" James said, nodding slowly.
"We must let the Heliopaths decide," interjected the old wizard. "They will be able to see the complete truth."
Harry cringed- he knew what was coming, and didn't like it one bit. He knew Sirius was innocent, but that didn't make him want to sit through another round of Fire Demons to prove it.
The Heliopaths swept through the Deceasengamot and surrounded Sirius, their flames attempting to lick his body, but never coming in contact. In a flash they were gone, and suddenly there was a burst of brilliant golden light. Harry squinted his eyes, and when he opened them Sirius was still standing in the center of the Semi-Circle, only this time he was robed in gold and looked as healthy as he did at James and Lily's wedding.
The old wizard nodded his approval. "Only the righteous may pass through the veil and survive."
Lily smiled, and began to wind her way down the steps towards Sirius, embracing him. "Only the untainted may judge in this courtroom."
She and James embraced their friend as the old Wizard spoke once more.
"Sirius Black, do you acknowledge your death and accept your appointment into the High Court of the Deceasengamot?"
Sirius grinned, "You bet I do! Now when do we get to set those fire things on The Dark Sodder?"
The court laughed, and many nodded vigorously in agreed anticipation.
"Welcome home, Padfoot," James whispered.
Harry began to feel himself float away, and soon he was staring into Ginny's wide, anxious eyes.
"Are you all right, Harry?" asked Hermione, who was kneeling on the floor next to him.
"Yeah mate," breathed Ron. "I don't think I've ever seen you have a nightmare like that! You went all shakey and started raving about innocence, and then you just went limp and peaceful."
Harry grinned and sat up, accepting his glasses from a still worried Mrs. Weasley.
"I'm fine. In fact- I'm completely content."