It was long past dark, and Draco was asleep across the bedroom. Harry was restless. At Hogwarts, he had picked up a bad habit of sneaking into the kitchens with his invisibility cloak for late night snacks. Even a month with the Dursleys couldn't break him of his late night cravings. Stomach rumbling, Harry stood and began walking to the kitchen. No matter what time of night it was, Dobby would be happy to make him a snack.
As Harry neared the den, he heard raised voices. Living with the Dursleys, Harry had learned long ago that when adults argue, a child is better out of sight. But before Harry could sneak past the open door, he heard his name. Curiosity aroused, Harry crouched next to the door, trying to stay out of sight but straining to understand the voices.
"…don't have to tell Harry that." This was Draco's mother.
"Yes, Narcissa, we do." Lucius, this time.
"But it's wrong. We shouldn't fill his head with such stories. He's Draco's best friend."
"It is our duty, Narcissa. We must remain vigilant. Or perhaps you have ignored the signs from the past two years? The Dark Lord has returned—twice! While there are some duties you may have forgotten since the war, I certainly have not."
"Luicus…"
"The decision has been made. We must speak with him."
"Fine." Narcissa's voice was cold and clear. "I will speak to him about Sirius Black and nothing more. The rest is left to you."
Harry heard footsteps approach the doorway to the den. Suddenly frantic, Harry backed up several steps, then began a casual walk down the hall, toward the open door. He almost bumped into Mrs. Malfoy as she left the room.
"Sorry, Mrs. Malfoy. I was just on my way to the kitchen…"
Draco's mother smiled. "A fine idea. Why don't we both have a bite to eat? Perhaps Lucius will join us in a moment."
Dobby quickly prepared a late-night snack for Harry (French toast) and Mrs. Malfoy (cheese danish). Harry ate silently, not daring to broach the subject of the argument.
As Mrs. Malfoy finished her pastry, she gave a great sigh. "Harry," she said, "I need to speak with you about something important. What do you know about Sirius Black?"
"Not much, Mrs. Malfoy. He just escaped from jail, and he's dangerous. Dangerous enough to warn the muggles, even."
"Correct. Sirius Black comes from a powerful magical family, one of the most esteemed pureblood families in England."
"Why haven't I heard of them?" asked Harry. "I mean, I know the Notts and the Parkinsons and the Weasleys, even the Longbottoms."
"Sirius is the last surviving heir who bears the Black family name. He has no surviving siblings. His extended family members were born with the Black family name, but they were all female. Being a traditional family, those cousins took the names of their husbands when they married."
A flash of insight hit Harry. "Names like Malfoy. That's how you know so much about his family."
"Yes, Harry, Sirius is my cousin. Which is why I must take responsibility for warning you about him." Narcissa sighed again. "We might as well begin at the beginning. The Black family is pureblooded and traceable for no fewer than twelve generations. For each of those twelve generations, the Black family attended Hogwarts. And for each of those twelve generations, the children were sorted into Slytherin, married a fellow Slytherin, and had children who were themselves sorted into Slytherin. Twelve generations, until Sirius Black, who betrayed everything our family held dear."
"He was a Gryffindor," Harry said.
Narcissa raised her eyebrows.
"If he were a Ravenclaw," Harry said, "there wouldn't be any real scandal. Hufflepuff would be an embarrassment, but he would still have been loyal to the Black family. He must have been in Gryffindor, or he wouldn't be brave enough to stand against generations of his family."
"Indeed. Sirius rejected his entire family. Even though we were classmates at Hogwarts, Sirius rarely spoke with me or my sister. Sirius constantly fought with his parents and his brother. Eventually, his mother burned his face from the Black Family Tree, the magical mural that traced twelve generations of pureblooded Blacks.
"Sirius wasn't a quiet individual. He was extremely vocal in his opposition of the Black family. If his father or my father made a proposal to the Wizangamot, Sirius would appear to speak in opposition. If our family made an investment in a business, he would invest in a competing enterprise. If a Black planned to marry, he would hire a private investigator to uncover embarrassing information about the spouse-to-be, and he would have it published in The Daily Prophet."
"He sounds petty."
"Extremely. He was an annoyance, but we didn't think he was a threat."
"So why was he sent to prison?" Harry asked.
Narcissa took a long moment before speaking. "Sirius was sent to Azkaban for murdering one of his best friends, a wizard named Peter Pettigrew. Sirius blew up a street full of muggles in the process. Nobody knows exactly what spell was cast, but it appeared to be an extraordinarily powerful blasting curse. All they ever found of Pettigrew was his little finger."
"That's horrible."
"Yes, Harry, it was. But there's a reason I'm telling you this. Pettigrew accused Sirius of being in league with the Dark Lord. Sirius Black appears to have been one of the Dark Lord's most important lieutenants."
"And now he's free. And Voldemort is trying to return." Harry paused. "You think Sirius Black is coming after me."
Narcissa nodded. "Harry, I'm going to ask you to promise me something. Whatever happens this year, please do not go looking for Sirius Black."
"Why would I do that?"
Instead of answering, Narcissa clapped her hands twice. Dobby appeared by her side. "Dobby, I need two cups of tea, and the good brandy."
Dobby disappeared and reappeared after only a few seconds. He placed two steaming cups of tea before Harry and Narcissa, and set the bottle of brandy next to the older witch. Narcissa opened the bottle and poured a small amount of brandy into Harry's tea. She poured a larger amount into her own.
"Harry, the Malfoys are a respected family in the wizarding community. Lucius and I are often privy to knowledge that the majority of wizards are not. What I am about to tell you is not commonly known." Narcissa took a drink of her tea. With a motion of her hand, she urged Harry to do the same.
"Your parents went into hiding near the end of the war with the Dark Lord. For some reason, the Dark Lord bore a particular grudge against the Potters, and had ordered your entire family killed. You and your parents were placed under a powerful protective spell called the Fidelus Charm, which protects a secret inside the soul of a single person who is known as the Secret Keeper. As long as the Secret Keeper does not reveal the secret, the secret can never be discovered or known by another. In this case, the secret was the location of your family's home."
"But Voldemort killed my parents in their home," Harry said, quickly processing the information. "Their Secret Keeper betrayed them?"
Narcissa nodded. "Harry… Sirius Black was your parents' Secret Keeper."
Harry felt as if he had suddenly been dropped into a tub of ice. Numbness spread throughout his body. He stared down at his hands, which felt disconnected, as if they belonged to somebody else. Distantly, as if through a long hallway, he heard Narcissa continue.
"When Sirius was sorted into Gryffindor, he met your father, and they became inseparable friends. More like brothers, actually. It was natural that your father would select Sirius to be the Secret Keeper. Sirius was the best man at your father's wedding. Your father chose Sirius Black to be your godfather, Harry—if your parents didn't survive the war, they wanted Sirius to raise you." Narcissa took a long drink of her tea. Her hand shook, rattling the teacup against the saucer as she placed them back on the table. "Your father entrusted everything important in his entire life to Sirius Black."
Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. Sirius Black was more than a mass murderer. Sirius Black was more than a Death Eater. Sirius Black was his parents' betrayer, and he had been allowed to escape from Azkaban. Harry's hands clenched into fists, and he trembled with rage.
"Pettigrew was killed on November 1, 1981," Narcissa said. "It was the day after the Dark Lord was defeated. Pettigrew was also your father's friend, and knew about the Fidelus Charm. Pettigrew tracked down Sirius, even though he knew that Sirius was a vastly more powerful wizard. The witnesses who survived the attack said that Pettigrew's last words were, 'James and Lily, Sirius! How could you?'"
The edges of his vision began to go black, and at the farthest edges of the black, Harry could see flashes of color… green, like lightning, crackling across the darkness…
"Harry?"
Harry looked up, opening his hands and releasing the breath that he hadn't realized he was holding. Color flooded back into the world.
Narcissa reached across the table and placed a hand on Harry's cheek. "Harry, you must promise me that you won't go looking for Sirius Black."
"I promise," Harry said. The lie fell smoothly from his lips.