Author's Note:
Hello and Thank You for Every Favourite, Follow and Review. I hope you enjoy this short chapter before we start heading off to Hogwarts.
Harry and Remus had decided it would be best for Remus to greet Sirius when he awoke. A familiar face would help to calm the possibly disoriented Animagus. So, Remus stayed at Sirius' side, and when the dog began to slowly stir, Remus locked eyes with the dog and shot him a small smile.
"Hello Padfoot," he said, as calmly as he could. The dog's eyes were instantly on him and a moment later, Sirius sat where the dog had been.
"Moo-" Sirius tried to exclaim, but his voice cracked from lack of use and he fell into a heavy coughing fit. Remus' face turned into a grimace and he patiently waited for Sirius to calm down again, knowing better than to approach him too quickly.
"You are safe," he said instead, keeping the tremor out of his voice as best as he could.
When Sirius finally stopped coughing, he looked at Remus for a few long moments. Then, tears started streaming from his eyes.
"I…I didn't…Peter…" he whispered, his hands gripping the couch he said upon, his fingers tearing into the fabric, "Oh god…James…"
"I know, Padfoot. I know you are innocent," Remus simply said, standing up and approaching Sirius, careful to keep his movements slow and steady. When Sirius didn't seem to freak out, he put his arms around his friend, pulling him into an embrace. Sirius clung to him like a drowning man would cling to a swimming piece of wood, weeping into his shoulder. Remus just held him, close to tears himself at the state of his childhood friend. He knew all the emotions the Dementors had sucked out of Sirius were now springing to the surface, the unprocessed trauma of that Halloween night no longer dulled from the soul-sucking beings.
Remus didn't know how long they stayed like that, Sirius crying into his shoulder. It could have been minutes, or it could have been an hour. Remus didn't care. Sirius was finally here and could start to recover. Ever since he knew of his innocence, every day the image of Padfoot in Azkaban had haunted him. Every day, he hoped the day they would get him would come sooner. The preparations had taken longer than they expected though, and now Harry was only days ago from heading off to Hogwarts. But now, all of that didn't matter, because Sirius was finally safe.
When Sirius had calmed down somewhat, only a single word left his mouth: "How?"
And so, Remus started explaining. How Harry had found him, the time travel, the oath and their plan. Of how Voldemort had survived and his horcruxes, and the prophecy. Sirius listened with wide eyed, letting the information sink in. As Remus had finished explaining, Sirius just sat there, overwhelmed by all that new information, but one thing was clearly visible on his face - determination.
"Where is Harry now?" he asked.
Harry took that cue to walk into the room, flashing his godfather a big smile.
"Hello there, Sirius," Sirius jumped from the couch, pulling his godson into a tight embrace.
"Thank you…thank you both," he breathed out letting go of Harry and switching his gaze between Remus and Harry, "Can I…take the oath?"
"Now?" Harry asked, still smiling.
"Yes," Sirius answered, "I owe you my life, and pledging the rest of it to help my godson is everything I want to do right now."
"Well, then let's get started." Harry said, motioning Remus to act as the witness. "I presume you know that the dementor influence is the factor that renders your previous bindings useless?"
"Yes," Sirius nodded, "While I never got along well with my father, he did instruct me on many topics including the ins and outs of the bindings of old. The Black's were always eager to escape them and swear oaths to the family. There were a few cases of my ancestors purposely spending some time in Azkaban to shed them, which was a big factor of us being labelled as a notoriously dark family."
Harry blinked. That information was new to him. Sirius, as the last surviving black had died too early to tell him.
"We should compare our knowledge, maybe you know ways that I don't." he said, eager at the opportunity to maybe free more people early than he had thought possible.
Sirius shook his head, frowning. "That was the only way we knew of."
Harry sighed. "Nonetheless, any information on the bindings is important. But first, lets get the oath out of the way, and then we get you something to eat."
Sirius nodded, and Harry could see a small glint of excitement in the Animagus' eyes. It would take time before Sirius would recover from his stay in Azkaban, but Harry was sure, now more than ever, that he would fine.
-o-o-
Today was the day the last member of their order would be hopefully welcomed in their midst. This one was, next to Hermione, the one Harry was most unsure about. Hagrid would be visiting the Dursleys today, and Harry and Remus would be expecting him there. If Hagrid decided against joining them, they would have a huge problem. As a half giant, Hagrid was incredibly magic resistant. Most charms were useless against him; a stunner would be simply shrugged off, as would most other spells. This unfortunately meant that memory charms would be just as ineffective. But what was most incredible about Hagrid's half giant status was his immunity to any binding that he didn't voluntarily undertook. Harry was sure that this was the real reason Hagrid had been conveniently expelled. Any competent Auror should have deduced that his Acromantula was not the culprit of Myrtle's murder, but the opportunity most likely had been far too good to simply ignore. His lack of magical education made him far less of a threat to the ministry. It was a miracle Dumbledore had been able to keep him inside Hogwarts as the groundkeeper at all.
Harry and Remus walked up to Number 4, Privet Drive early in the morning. Harry hadn't been sure when exactly Hagrid would arrive, so they decided to better be too early than too late. Harry was glad that the wards on their house in Godric's Hollow were built for wartime, shielding them even from the scrying mechanisms of Hogwarts letters, which meant the last known home location would be used, so in this case, his aunt's and uncle's house.
With a quick wave of his wand, the door unlocked in front of them. Remus and Harry stepped into the house, closing the door behind them. A moment later they came face to face with an enraged looking Petunia, who had been alerted by the noise of the door opening and closing.
"You!" she screeched, "How dare you show your face here afte-"
Swifty, a body bind froze his aunt in place, shock plastered onto her face. Dudley and Vernon seemed to not currently be at home, as none of them came storming into the hall after Petunia.
"Hello Petunia," Harry said to the frozen women, "No worries, we will be gone before you know it and after that, you won't see me ever again."
Harry then turned to Remus. "How about we get ourselves a cup of coffee while we wait for Hagrid?" Remus nodded, following Harry, who had already started walking towards the kitchen.
They sat there mostly in silence, both of them slightly nervous about the coming talk with Hagrid. Although many thought otherwise, Hagrid wasn't dumb. However, he wasn't the most strategic of persons, thinking a lot more with his heart than his mind. He tended to be impulsive, and because Hagrid knew those faults of his, he rather let other people make important decisions for him. This, however, was a decision he had to make on his own. It was of vital importance that Dumbledore wasn't informed yet on their order, because his bindings would force him into actions that neither Harry, nor Dumbledore would like. So, Harry hoped, that if Hagrid decided against joining them, he would at least agree on an oath of silence.
When Harry took a sip of his second cup of coffee, a loud knock at the front door shook him out of his musings. "Well, here goes nothing!" he exclaimed, standing up and walking towards the front door, Remus following behind him. When he opened the door, a beaming Hagrid looked at him.
"Harry! Man, yeh have grown…The last time I saw yeh, you were this tiny lad, yeh know? Yeh don't remember tha', o' course. I…" he abruptly stopped talking, when he saw Remus standing behind Harry, and a look of confusion graced his face. "Re—I mean Mr. Lupin. I didn't expect yeh here. Did Dumbledore send yeh? 'm here to give Harry his Hogwarts letter. Was very surprised, when Dumbledore asked me, thought one o' the Professors would go…"
Harry had to stifle a laugh at Hagrid's familiar talkativeness. Remus stepped forwards, answering the half-giant. "Hello Hagrid, Remus is fine. I'm actually here to talk with you. It's a bit of a sensitive matter concerning Harry."
Hagrid still looked confused, and a tint of worry creeped into his expression. "If there is a problem, maybe yeh should go to Dumbledore, I'm ju-"
Remus politely held up a hand, stopping Hagrid mid-sentence. "Hagrid, I know this sounds a bid vague, but this is a matter concerning you and Harry, and it is important that you hear this first. If you could come inside, I can explain further."
Hagrid seemed to think for a moment, not looking really convinced. "Is this about Si…I mean Black?"
"No. Hagrid, you know me, we have spent enough time in your hut while we were at school. I wouldn't ask you if it weren't important."
Hagrid looked at Remus for another few seconds, before finally giving in. "Fine, I jus' don't want to cause any trouble. Dumbledore trusted me with bringin' Harry this letter, yeh know? Great man, Dumbledore."
"There will be no trouble Hagrid," Remus promised, stepping aside to let the huge man through the door. Hagrid had to duck to even get through it, and a moment later the three of them were sitting inside the living room of the Dursleys.
"I, Harry James Potter, swear on my magic that everything I am about to say is, to the extend of my knowledge, the truth. As I swore so mote it be."
While Harry had spoken, a horrified look appeared on Hagrid's face. "Harry, yeh can't go meddlin' with those magics, do yeh-"
"Hagrid!" Harry exclaimed, with a bit more force than he intended, "Hagrid, I know. Please…just listen to what I have to say."
Hagrid looked surprise at the seriousness in Harry's tone. His gaze shifted between Harry and Remus, before staying on Harry for a few long seconds. Finally, he nodded.
And so, this time Harry explained everything from start to finish. There were several times when Hagrid looked like he wanted to interrupt him, but a short look always stopped him in his tracks. When Harry had finished, Hagrid seemed like he didn't really know what to say.
"But why are yeh tellin' me this. Yeh should go to Dumbledore, he will know what to do. I cant do nothin' to help yeh, I dont even have a wand," Hagrid looked almost pleading, wildly gesturing with his hands while talking.
Harry sighed. "Hagrid, Dumbledore is a great wizard, and an even greater man. If I could, telling him would be the first thing I would do, but I can't! Dumbledore is bound by his bindings to the ministry, he would be forced to move against us instantly."
"His bindings?" Hagrid asked, perplexed.
Harry wanted to slap his hand against his face. Of course, Hagrid knew absolutely nothing about how the ministry worked, who would have told him? Thus, Harry began another explanation, just as he had done with Hermione. Starting at the trace, then the other bindings the ministry used. Then, knowing it would hurt Hagrid but also knowing that he needed to know the truth, he explained Hagrid's immunity to such bindings, and his theory on why Hagrid had actually been expelled.
"They knew? They knew I was innocent an' expelled me 'cause these….these…bindings wouldn't work?!"
Harry had seldom seen Hagrid enraged, but the gentle half giant was practically fuming with anger. Rightly so, Harry thought.
"Yes, I am quite sure that is the real reason. Hagrid, you have huge potential as a wizard. We can get you a wand, and we can give you the education the ministry has denied you. What we ask for in return, is to pledge your life to the abolishment of these horrific laws and to fight Voldemort when he will rise again."
Hagrid, still fuming, didn't take long before answering. "Harry, yeh parents were great people, yeh know? And I think they would be very proud o' yeh. I will take the oath."
Harry shot Hagrid a smile. "Great, then we should head over to Godrics Hollow, where we are currently staying, do the oath, and then we can put you up to speed on our further planning."
As the three were leaving the Dursleys home, one thought shot through Harry's head. He had been right - Hagrid did always act through his heart.