Chapter 17: Confronting Dumbledore
The Christmas morning, Sirius Black was given an envelope from Harry Potter. Sirius was divided between being happy Harry gave him something and sad it was a mere envelope. "Happy Christmas, Professor Black."
"Happy Christmas, Prongslet, but there's no need to call me 'Professor' when we're meeting outside Hogwarts for non-school related topics." Sirius replied. "You may call me Sirius, Uncle Sirius, or Godfather Sirius."
"Thank you, Uncle Sirius." Harry uneasily said. He thought just 'Sirius' would be too close and there was no way he'd call someone other than Severus Snape 'Godfather'.
Sirius then opened the envelope and found a blank parchment. "Is this what I think it is, Prongslet?" He asked Harry.
"Yes, it's the Marauder's Map." Harry answered.
"Harry, don't mention the map in front of snakes." Sirius seriously (no, really) told his godson.
"We already know about the map, Black." Severus stated. "Harry told me about it himself."
"You revealed a Marauder secret to Snivellus?" Sirius felt betrayed by that one.
"He is my Godfather." Harry replied, not caring about how Sirius felt.
"How did you even get the map in the first place?" Sirius asked.
"The Weasley Twins gave it to me." Harry explained.
"And you betray them by telling about it to a slimy snake?" Sirius asked in outrage.
"No, I betray them by giving it to a Professor." Harry teased Sirius.
"Prongslet, I am a Marauder first, a Godfather second, and a Professor third." Sirius explained.
"We also have a present for you, Sirius." Frank said as he handed Sirius a package to stop that arguing.
Once again, Sirius Black revealed himself to be the most childish character among them. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" He eagerly said as he grabbed the package. "A book?" Sirius asked in disappointment.
"Not just any book." Alice answered. "It's a scrap book so you can see moments of Harry's childhood you've missed."
Sirius eagerly browsed through the book. "Awesome gift!" He exclaimed. "It'd be perfect if not for the Snape pictures. Too many of them."
"For you, Black, even one would be too many." Severus commented.
"Where's Moony?" Sirius asked upon realizing the scrapbook has no pictures of Remus Lupin.
"Frank and I haven't had any news from him ever since the Order's last meeting." Alice answered.
"I've never seen Lupin after graduation and I hope it stays like that." Severus stated.
"Afraid Prongslet will like him more than he likes you?" Sirius teased.
"Afraid Harry and I will be bitten." Severus bluntly answered.
"Snivellus, the Headmaster made all of us promise we'd never tell anybody." Sirius called Snape out on revealing Remus' secret.
"The Longbottoms made no promises on that matter." Severus explained.
"You told him?" Sirius was shocked.
"Harry had a right to know about James' closest friendships, Sirius." Frank explained.
After that Christmas, Sirius returned to the castle. "Welcome back, Sirius." Dumbledore happily greeted him inside the Headmaster's office. "How's your Christmas?"
"Fine, Headmaster." Sirius sadly replied. "Except for one thing: did you know James' Invisibility Cloak is the cloak from the Tale of the Three Brothers?"
Dumbledore was shocked but quickly recovered. "Yes, Sirius, I had figured out this detail. How did you know?"
"James trusted me with the family secret back when he thought I'd be the only one of us to live long enough to tell Prongslet." Sirius explained. "Should I be worried the prophecy wasn't Voldemort's only reason to target the Potters?"
"Sirius, while I don't doubt Voldemort would be interested on anything that could make him the Master of Death, I'm certain he doesn't know about the Deathly Hallows." Dumbledore reassured Sirius.
"So, I don't have to worry about it being Tom Riddle or one of his followers who stole Morfin Gaunt's ring?" Sirius maliciously asked.
Dumbledore was not only saddened by the memory of the innocent he couldn't clear on time but also surprised that someone would link the incident with the Deathly Hallows. "What does the ring have to do with the Deathly Hallows?"
"The Gaunts were at some point the last known direct descendants of Cadmus Peverell, who owned the Resurrection Stone." Sirius explained. "Morfin's father was known for, among other things, claiming the stone in Morfin's ring had the Peverell symbol. My family believed that stone could be the Resurrection Stone and whoever stole the ring believed that as well."
"How did you connect this to Tom Riddle?" Dumbledore was really curious about that one. He never stopped to think about what the Blacks knew about Voldemort.
"Ever since Tom Riddle revealed himself to be a Parselmouth, his fellow Slytherins not only figured out he must be a descendant of Salazar Slytherin but also that it must be through the Gaunts since, until Riddle revealed himself, they were Salazar's last known descendants." Sirius explained. "Given his age and the fact he doesn't use the surname Gaunt, Riddle is likely to be Merope Gaunt's child. Before you ask me, Headmaster, my parents knew Voldemort is Tom Riddle and a half-blood. They were just impressed enough by his power they believed his Slytherin blood made up for his impurity."
Dumbledore remembered from watching the memory of the Ministry officer who investigated Morfin's breach of the Statute of Secrecy that Marvolo Gaunt did say the ring's stone had the Peverell's symbol but the Headmaster never stopped to think it could be the Resurrection Stone. "Sirius, during my youth, I grew curious about the Hallows but, in spite of this, I failed to figure out the stone in the ring could be one of them."
"Why else would someone want the ring to the point of stealing it?" Sirius asked.
"I can't think of any reason right now, Sirius." Dumbledore answered. 'At least not one I'd tell.'
"Now, about the Elder Wand, did Gellert Grindelwald really have it when you defeated him?" Sirius asked.
Now Dumbledore was really shocked. Of all the secrets he kept to himself, that's the biggest one among those not directly related to either Harry or Voldemort. That'd be a long day.
End chapter.