Disclaimer: I do not own or have any rights to Harry Potter.
I hope you enjoy this story that I got from katie13 (yes another one) that she said that she had never put up on this site.
Chapter 22
Dumbledore smiled at the little boy, the twinkle in his eyes brilliant.
Harry was regarding the strange man with the long white hair and beard with curiosity. He was quite sure that he had never seen him before.
"Dad, who is this?" Harry inquired curiously.
Sirius chuckled at the look on the headmaster's face when he heard his newly-acquired title. It was priceless. Sirius realized that this was the first time he had ever seen the headmaster look truly astonished.
"Harry, this is Professor Dumbledore."
Harry's curiosity seemed to grow. "Are you a friend?" He asked with such child-like innocence that both Dumbledore and Sirius had to keep themselves from smiling.
Dumbledore managed. "Yes." He said in a perfectly honest and earnest voice that made Sirius want to laugh even harder.
"So, Harry," the headmaster added quickly, seeing Sirius' predicament, "How are you today?"
Harry grinned widely up at the aged man and decided that he liked him. "I'm great!"
Sirius had regained his composure. "Harry, why don't you go and play while Professor Dumbledore and I talk?"
Harry didn't really want to go, but he was not stupid. He knew that this was not really a question. "Alright!" he said, and went back into the living room to play with his new toys.
Sirius waited until the living room door had shut behind Harry and then turned back to his former headmaster. "Albus, why are you here?"
Dumbledore sighed and ran a hand across his face, his cheerful demeanor dropping now that Harry had left the room. "Sirius, we have a problem." He said in a deathly serious voice.
Sirius sobered immediately at Dumbledore's tone of voice. Whatever the headmaster was going to say, it had to be BAD.
"What is it?" Sirius asked nervously.
Dumbledore sighed again and leaned against the wall. "Fudge knows that Harry is not with the Dursleys."
Sirius frowned. From what he had heard of Fudge, this was a very bad sign. "What's he doing?" Sirius wanted to know.
Dumbledore looked down for a moment, another thing Sirius had never seen him do before. "He wants Harry to see a doctor."
Sirius stared. Fudge was concerned about Harry's health? That just didn't sound right. Or did the minister not think him, Sirius Black, capable of caring for his godson? Sirius scowled. "Why?" He asked curtly.
Dumbledore sensed the younger man's anger. He put a soothing hand on Sirius' arm. "Calm down. Fudge thinks that Harry is insane."
Sirius jumped and sputtered indignantly. "WHAT?! INSANE?! He is not and we both know that!!!"
Dumbledore quickly quieted Sirius down. "Of course not, but Fudge never listens." Dumbledore was scowling. Another expression Sirius had never seen on his face.
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You're right." He said quietly.
Dumbledore nodded and the two of them remained silent for a few minutes.
"What are we going to do?" Dumbledore asked finally.
Sirius huffed. "Nothing, because as Harry's godfather, I would never give Fudge permission to take away my godson!"
The headmaster looked doubtful. "I know that you wouldn't, Sirius, but he might try to force you."
Sirius looked stubborn. "He can try," he said aggressively, cracking his knuckles.
The wise headmaster had to smile a bit. Sirius looked ready to pounce on anyone who tried to touch a hair on his godson's head.
"You will not allow it?" Dumbledore asked again, making sure.
Sirius shook his head in determination. "If he tries to force me I will call you immediately."
Dumbledore looked satisfied and nodded, patting Sirius on the shoulder. "Wonderful!" He said, his cheerful mood returning.
Sirius smiled. "Do you want to talk to Harry?" He asked the headmaster of Hogwarts.
Dumbledore shook his head. "That won't be necessary, Sirius," he said. "Good luck!" And with a 'pop', Dumbledore was gone.
Sirius stared at the spot where the headmaster had been for a few moments, until he heard the door behind him crack open. Sirius turned and Harry padded over to him and tugged on his sleeve.
"Dad, can we color again?"
Sirius shook off all thoughts about ministers and headmasters and smiled at his 'son'. "Of course, kiddo."
Sirius picked Harry up and carried him back into the living room. He put Harry down on the floor and handed him some crayons. Harry immediately began to color the pages of his book, while Sirius mainly watched Harry carefully.
Over the past day, Sirius had noticed that Harry did only the things that made no noise. Even that afternoon, in the garden, he had been reluctant about playing 'tag' at first. The only time when Sirius had ever heard Harry make any noise, really, was when he asked Harry something. After a while, Harry seemed to tire from all the coloring.
Sirius glanced at the clock on the wall. "Harry, it's almost time for dinner, so what would you like to do?"
Harry looked hesitant and Sirius smiled at him encouragingly. "Could you please tell me more about my parents?" Harry asked timidly.
Sirius sighed to himself. The way Harry had said that really told him a lot about the way the Dursleys had raised his godson.
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