'Why couldn't somebody just tell me all this? Why do I have to hear this now? And how is it possible that you have been in prison all this time without me even knowing about your existence?' Harry asked.
'Well, I guess no one wanted to bother you with this. Everyone thought I was a serial killer, you know? You can't blame them for not telling you that I was your godfather. You would have freaked out probably,' Sirius explained calmly.
'I am not freaking out right now, am I?' Harry said impatiently.
'I know… But that is because you now know I am innocent,' Sirius said.
'Who else knows?' Harry asked.
'Not everyone wants to believe me, of course. I don't want to take the risk of telling everyone, some people still want me in Azkaban. Only Hermione knows, Ron and Remus of course. And Snape, kind of. He knows I am out of prison and Remus tried to convince him that I am innocent, but Snape being Snape, he refuses to believe that I have done nothing wrong,' Sirius said bitterly.
'Why? Why wouldn't he believe you?' Harry asked curiously.
'Let's just say that forgiving people about something that happened in the past is not professor Snape's strongest point,' Remus said.
'So… what are you going to do now? If Snape, I mean, professor Snape, knows about you and he doesn't believe that you're innocent… Then he might want to go looking for you,' Harry said uneasily.
'I know. That's why I wanted to see you now, I have to leave Hogwarts. I am going to my paternal house in London. And I wanted to ask you something as well…' Sirius hesitated for a moment. Harry waited for Sirius to continue.
'Yes?' he encouraged Sirius.
'I was wondering if you would like to visit me some time, since I can't visit you… I am still hiding for the ministry. Maybe you want to come this summer? I understand it when you prefer living with your uncle and aunt, of course…' Sirius said, regretting his proposal immediately. Why would this boy want to visit someone he hardly knew in an old, dirty house?
'No! I'd love to! Really!' Harry said excitedly. He was happy to finally have someone he could go to instead of the Dursleys.
'I am glad that you are accepting my offer, I really am,' Sirius said. He couldn't hide his smile, he almost got tears in his eyes. He had finally met his godson.
'You have no idea how happy I am with your offer, believe me,' Harry said smiling. Sirius looked at him suspiciously.
'Why is that? Don't you like it with your aunt and uncle?' Sirius asked.
'Come on, Padfoot, you have seen Lily's sister yourself once. She hates magic and I am sure her husband does too. I couldn't believe it when Dumbledore decided to leave that boy there! I have considered to take care of him, and I would have if I wasn't a… you know… Those Dursleys can't be any good for him, I have heard Hagrid and McGonagall about them,' Remus said.
'You are right, I never liked Petunia, she was so mean towards everyone who had magic… I am sorry that you had to be there for so long, Harry,' Sirius said, feeling truly sorry now.
'It's okay, it's not your fault that you two couldn't take care of me,' Harry said.
'Harry? I wanted to discuss the last things with Remus if that's okay… I am sure we will meet again soon,' Sirius said. When Harry nodded, Sirius pulled his godson in for a hug. When he let go of Harry, he looked him in the eyes.
'You look so much like James… Except for your eyes, but I am sure I am not the first one who mentioned that to you,' Sirius said smiling.
Harry gave him a smile in return.
'It's okay, I take it as a compliment,' Harry grinned, then he turned towards the door. With one last look, he waved and he went to the Common Room, completely filled with joy because of the news that he had somewhere else to go in the summer.
'We've been here for two hours now, Moony, we need to hurry I guess,' Sirius said.
'How do you want to get there? Floo? You can't apparate here, but I can get you out of Hogwarts unseen if you want… Floo powder is better, I think,' Remus suggested.
Sirius only nodded. Then there was a knock on the door.
'Hide! Quickly,' Remus hissed and when Sirius was gone, Remus slowly opened the door. He sighed in relief when he saw who it was.
'Hermione, come in,' he said and he held the door open for her. 'It's okay, Sirius.'
'Hello, professor, Sirius,' Hermione said.
Sirius appeared once again and he smiled at Hermione. Remus only looked at her.
'You don't need to call me professor… There is no one here,' Remus said.
'Oh, of course, Remus,' Hermione said, but she sounded like she had just heard an unbelievable thing. Remus was not really sure why Hermione acted like this, she never called him professor. He took her hand in his.
'Why are you here? Don't you have class anymore?' Sirius asked surprised.
'No…' Hermione said and she shook her hand out of Remus'. She looked at Remus as though he was magically transformed into a turtle.
'What is it, Mione?' Remus asked suspiciously.
'Nothing,' Hermione answered, but she sounded different. Then she turned to Sirius. 'I want you to come with me, there is something you need to see. I know how I can get you out of here without being seen.'
'We can use floo powder, Hermione. That will work,' Sirius said.
'They can trace you that way, the ministry can see who is travelling through fireplaces,' Hermione said.
'And how do you know that?' Sirius asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.
'I just know. Now I need you to come with me, that is safer,' Hermione said.
'No one knows Sirius is here, therefore it is safe to use my fireplace. I think it is more dangerous for Sirius to wander around the castle,' Remus said, not completely trusting Hermione's suggestion. There was something not right about this.
'My solution is better, don't you two trust me?' Hermione asked.
'Of course I trust you, but since I don't know what your idea is, I can't judge the situation. Show it to me first, then we can decide what is better,' Remus said.
'No, I am only taking Sirius with me. Otherwise it would draw too much attention,' Hermione said, crossing her arms. Remus looked at her carefully, there was something different about her.
'Is everything alright with you, dear? You seem a little bit… different,' Remus said carefully.
'Yes I am fine,' Hermione said, but Remus didn't believe her entirely. Her voice sounded strong, but Hermione would never snap to him like this. He came closer to her and pulled her in for a hug, just to see her reaction. Hermione pushed him away quickly.
'What is it then?' Remus asked. It looked like Hermione realized that she had made a mistake, and she started to apologize.
'I am sorry, not now, Remus. I am a little bit worried, that's all,' Hermione said with a small smile.
'So it is nothing serious? You haven't been cursed or something?' Remus asked, still uncertainly.
'No, don't be stupid. Now, are you coming with me or not, Sirius? Because if you are not coming right now, it might be too late,' Hermione said.
'I think I'll stick to the floo powder, but thanks for offering,' Sirius said.
Hermione grew impatient now.
'Don't be so stubborn! I know that floo powder is not safe, you have to trust me! Now hurry, we don't have much time,' Hermione said loudly.
Now Remus had an idea. She was acting different and that was no coincidence.
'We don't have much time? Or don't you have much time? Why are you in a hurry?' Remus asked, turning around to his desk. He waited for Hermione to start talking and then he opened the Marauders Map carefully without Hermione seeing what he was doing. He quietly said: 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.' Then he tapped the map with his wand. He turned around for a moment to make sure Hermione hadn't seen what he had been doing.
'We don't have much time, alright? Leastwise, Sirius doesn't have much time,' Hermione said frustrated.
Remus didn't really listen to what she had to say, he was looking for his own office on the map.
'What are you doing?' Hermione asked. 'What is on that piece of parchment?'
There was the proof. Hermione would know what the piece of parchment was. She knew about the map. That meant that this wasn't Hermione. Remus didn't answer her question and continued studying the map. There was his classroom, and his office. There were three persons in the room, one of them was Sirius, one of them was Remus, but the third one wasn't Hermione. Remus grabbed his wand and turned around.
'What have you done to Hermione? Tell me where she is!' he said forcefully, aiming his wand at the fake Hermione.