Chapter 8 : Let's get a few things straight . . .
"They're gone," announced Sirius, as he came into the room. Seeing Rupert eyeing the noisy cupboard, he grinned. "It's just a Boggart, Ron . . I mean Rupert . . sorry.
"No problem; I've answered to either or both of those names for half my life, now." Rupert acknowledged. "Wonder what form it would take for me?"
"Want to find out?" Sirius started toward the rattling piece of furniture.
"NO!" "Not while I'm in here!" "No thanks, mate!" "Oh! No!"
"Oh, come on. It can't be that scary, can it?" Sirius was surprised by their reactions to his offer.
"For you, no; you can do a 'Patronus'. For us, not so much of a thrill; we have no way of protecting ourselves. Not that you'd let anything happen to us, but . . . just to be on the safe side," Emma added, her eyes big a saucers, peeking around Rupert at the Boggart's hiding place.
"Right. Point taken. Maybe later . . . so, what's the plan?" Sirius rubbed his hands together.
"We need to tap into your neighbor's electrical supply, to run the TV and VCR," Harry advised him, pulling the wrapped, shrunken electronics from Emma's tote. "We were thinking you could make a temporary hole in the adjoining wall and then do a spell on them not to notice the extension cord. When we're done you can close the hole, the wall looks untouched, Bob's your uncle, back to normal!
"What, the Muggles on this side?" Sirius pointed to #11. "Mate, they're not even home! I could hear them talking through the wall the other day and they've gone to visit their family in the West County, and won't be home until after New Years. There's no problem about the electricity . . . let me show you how it's done."
"We'd better set up in the front parlor, though, as it's bigger," Dan interrupted.
"Oh, right, well, let's shift rooms then," agreed Sirius, as he led the way to the adjacent room, the others following him. With a bit of a flourish, Severus pulled his wand and pointed it at the wall. " 'Exoria Ianua'," he intoned, and a plain wooden door appeared in the connecting wall. Walking over, he opened it and peeked into the adjoining house. "Better decorator than Mum used, but not by much."
Opening the door, bumping into a magazine rack in the process, he entered followed by Rupert, extension cord in hand. Looking around, Rupert spotted an outlet, went over, plugged in the cord and then played it out, back into #12. Sirius followed, closing the door, after adding a small notch for the cord in the bottom edge.
"TA-DA!"
"Excellent! Now if you would do the honors and get these back to their normal size," asked Dan, pointing to the miniaturized TV and DVD player sitting on a table Tom and he had positioned in front of the fireplace.
"Engorgio"
After straightening the TV, connecting it to the DVD and plugging them both into the extension cord, Dan took the remote and turned the TV on, switching to DVD mode.
"Right. That's ready to go. Let's put the DVDs right here next to the player and then we'll be all set for the 'show'." Dan turned and took the DVDs from Emma and placed them on the table.
Sirius was circling the TV, obviously amazed at how sleek and thin it was.
"This is not what I was expecting at all, mate. Do all Muggle TVs look like this, now, or rather, in the future."
"A lot do, but not everyone has upgraded yet, if their old set works just fine. But more and more are like this, some are way bigger, almost a theater in your home, so to speak!" Rupert explained.
"I'm sure everyone will be thrilled with the movies, as they are so realistic," Emma enthused. "We even brought an extra DVD with a whole lot of information about how the effects of the movies were done. It's as much 'magic' to Muggles as it will be to all of you; most people have no idea how we get some of the effects done."
"Could I see that one while we wait for the others to get back?" asked Sirius, a bit of 'kid in a candy store' look in his eyes.
"I suppose so, but we need to talk to you first, while we're alone, if you don't mind," Dan replied, a serious look on his face, indicating to Sirius to have a seat on one of the sofas.
"I just had a flashback," Sirius mumbled. "That's the same tone I used to hear when I was being sent to the Headmaster's office."
"It's not all that bad," Emma reassured him. "It's just that in retrospect, we can see all of the mistakes people made, trying to shield each other, but actually having the opposite effect. All of those noble intentions did more harm than good."
"I take it I am doing something wrong, already." Sirius asked, looking around at the four visitors.
"Yes, and no." Rupert answered. "You're happy to be out of Azkaban and in Harry's life, but you're frustrated being stuck here in Grimmauld place."
"And Severus doesn't help your frustration factor when he takes every chance he gets to insinuate you're hiding here instead of doing something 'useful'," Tom informed him.
Sirius snarled. "Snivilus, that greasy git. Sticking his big nose in my business, as usual."
"That's one thing, right there!" Dan spoke up, pointing at him, stopping Sirius in his tracks. "Severus Snape gave his life in the Battle at Hogwarts and he does more to protect Harry than anyone, including you! That's the first thing I want you to absorb, remember and be thankful for, as far as the story went the first time!"
"SNAPE!?" Sirius was flabbergasted. "Then why doesn't he act like he gives a damn about Harry?"
"He's been playing his part for so long, it's ingrained in him to be the 'snarky bat'," Tom injected. "He scares hell out of most of the Slytherins, never mind the rest of the school and a few of the teachers," he added, shaking his head. "He cares more than anyone will ever know."
"Point of fact, Sirius, with his dying breath Severus gave Harry his memories, which Harry took to Albus' 'Pensieve' and reviewed. It's not for me to tell them to you, but know that the Marauders were totally wrong about him," Emma told him, with a small smile.
"You owe him a heartfelt thank you, at the very least, for doing all he has done for Harry. . . things you couldn't know of, or do, because of your imprisonment and then your death. Severus didn't deserve to die the way he did, either and we're determined to see that he doesn't, this time around." Rupert added.
"Oh, so my death doesn't get as much consideration as Severus Snape's?" Sirius snapped.
"SIRIUS!" Dan yelled. "STOP THINKING OF YOURSELF ALL THE DAMN TIME! THE PITY PARTY STOPS NOW!"
Sirius' mouth hung open, then his eyes narrowed. "And who the bloody hell are you to talk to me that way?"
"I'm the bloody Muggle who is going to save your selfish arse, that's who I am!" Dan got right in his face. "Now, I'm going to show you just how wrong you are and MAYBE, if your stiff necked pride will back off a bit, you'll get it!"
"How dare you," Sirius growled.
"Dare? DARE?" Dan ran his hand through his hair. "We're Muggles who are risking our lives to try and save some people who, although we didn't know they really existed, have been part of our lives for the last ten plus years. WE'VE ALREADY GONE THROUGH ALL THIS AND WE'RE TRYING TO HELP! WE'RE SAVING YOU FROM YOUR OWN STUPIDITY, YOU BERK!"
"Jeez, Dan, don't sugar coat it," Tom mumbled. "Just give him the facts and let him make up his own mind!"
Dan looked over at Tom, who winked, which had the effect he'd hoped for; Dan nodded, smiled a bit and took a deep breath.
Sirius sat, brows furrowed, then he looked up at Dan.
"Right. Well, go on then; tell me where I mess up," Sirius grumped, sitting back, arms crossed, slouching down and frowning.
"Body language," sighed Emma, who reached over to Sirius. "You're closing down and you won't hear what we're saying if you don't uncross your arms and relax. Don't be so defensive and you might absorb this better. And sit up, please." She patted his arm and gave him a smile.
Sirius looked at her, uncrossed his arms, sat up straighter, sighed and nodded his head.
"How does she do that?" Rupert whispered to Tom, who shrugged.
"Okay, first you need to know that Harry really was pitch forked into this whole 'boy-who-lived' . . . didn't even know he was a Wizard . . . bull's eye painted on his heart . . . 'only hope for the Wizarding World' . . . existence, without a clue about his parents, the Marauders, Severus' connection to his mother . . . none of that. The poor kid is learning on the fly and people really need to tell him a lot more than they are. Remus did a good job, albeit those memories were slanted toward the 'rose colored glasses' side, telling him about all of your years at Hogwarts. But even he didn't tell all of it."
"We had no secrets from each other." Sirius grumbled.
"Did you know Severus' background; about his family life, his friendship with Lily before Hogwarts?" Dan asked, listing a few examples.
"Well . . . no I guess I didn't," admitted Sirius. "But we were just kids; we didn't care about life before Hogwarts, just what was going on then."
"Which is typical of most of the students, unless you're talking about family and things with a close friend," Emma agreed.
"Girls talk about that stuff; guys just boast about things they have done, and what mischief they have planned," suggested Rupert.
"Anyway," said Dan, continuing with his thought. "Harry has, if not a guilt complex, then a defense mechanism, learned from living at the Dursleys; that he has to keep things to himself, not draw attention and just muddle through on his own. He doesn't want to 'bother' people with his problems, when he should be asking for their help."
"I had no idea . . . was it that bad at his aunt's house." Sirius asked, suddenly concerned.
"Bad enough, but he's resilient and is doing just fine, basically. But not having all the facts is not fair to him, and is putting his whole life in constant peril. Albus is the worst, but doesn't realize it until after you're killed, when he tries to explain to Harry why he's done what he has all these years. He still doesn't tell him some things he will need to defeat Voldemort . . . we'll deal with that, too."
"Albus? What's he doing wrong?"
"He's not telling him the whole story, trying to 'protect' him, instead of letting Harry get all the facts into his brain so he can start understanding what is coming, what he's required to do about Voldemort."
"What? What does Harry have to do, face him alone . . .well, we'll train him and . . . "
Dan held up his hand. "Sirius, it's a lot more complicated than that . . . but I want Harry to hear it first, then we'll all discuss what's imperative to get rid of Voldemort."
"I don't like the sound of that," Sirius replied quietly.
"It is his destiny, Sirius, and there is NO way to change that. We have to give him a better chance by working against Voldemort beforehand, that's the important bit." Tom told the Wizard. "It was basically 'sheer dumb luck', that got Harry through the last war. As Harry, well Dan, says at one point in the last film, ' When have any of our plans ever actually worked? We plan . . . we get there . . . all hell breaks loose!' "
"Okay, but how about Sniv . . .Severus? Is he going to be called on the carpet and told to change his ways, as you just did to me or am I special?" Sirius smirked.
"His sense of humor is back, so I think we're getting through, Dan," remarked Emma, smiling at Sirius.
Dan smiled, too and nodded. "Oh, yes, I intend to be just as hard on him, and Albus, as I was on you just now, Sirius. It's called 'tough love' in the Muggle world, and I hope you don't hold it against me; only way to get through to you."
"I deserved a wakeup call, I admit. Anything else, while you're on a roll?" Sirius grinned.
"Yes, actually."
"Bugger!" Sirius' face fell and he sighed, waving his hand to tell Dan to continue.
"Stop thinking Harry is a copy of James. He is not . . . he's Harry, totally his own person, and not your old mate. As a matter of fact, he's not really pleased about some of the things he's learning his father did at Hogwarts . . . the real James wasn't a saint and Harry is questioning what else people haven't told him . . . he's a smart kid, but is reticent to ask too much - again, learned behavior; don't draw attention, it leads to punishment."
"Punishment? What did his relatives do to him," asked Sirius, visibly upset.
"Nothing that needs any attention now; he's a tough kid and his reflexes and survival instincts are better than most because of his life with the Dursleys," Rupert answered. "Don't worry about that part of his past, he learned from it; leave it alone until after this is over."
"I think that's enough for Sirius to have shoved into his brain for right now," said Tom as he stood and started looking through the pile of DVDs. "Let's dazzle him with our Muggle magic."
"Start with the one about Magical creatures. You'll love the bit about Buckbeak," she said to Sirius. "Then the one on creating Hogwarts, maybe, if we have time," Emma suggested.
"Oh, one more thing, which we can rectify fairly easily," Rupert interrupted, grimacing at the exasperated look Sirius was sending his way. "Remember when you told Kreacher to 'get out' the night all the Weasley kids and Harry arrived from Hogwarts when Mr. Weasley was attacked?"
"Yes?" Sirius got the feeling he wasn't going to like the rest of Rupert's statement.
"The bad news: he left . . . the building . . . went straight to Narcissa and Bella. Been spilling his guts, except he can't give them the password to get in here because of the 'Fidelious Charm'."
"Bloody hell!" Sirius hung his head.
"Here's the good news: Harry gets on Kreacher's good side and he actually comes to Hogwarts and rallies the House Elves and they all fought in the final Battle!" Dan informed him, nodding at the look of disbelief on Sirius' face.
"Well bugger me! How in the world?"
"We'll get to that later, there's time and Kreacher will be all for helping us with our plans when we explain it to him," Emma reassured Sirius, patting him arm.
X X X
Would anyone like a drink? asked Ginny, standing up and looking around.
"Nothing for me, Ginny," answered Hermione.
"Me, either, Gin, thanks,' Ron squeezed his sister's hand as she passed him.
"I'll have a Fire Whiskey and make it a double, please." Draco stood, walked over to the window and looked out.
"I'll take some tea, Ginny," replied Harry. "Need any help?"
"Not really, just using this as an excuse to stretch my legs. . . be right back."
X X X
"Okay, the next landing is the fourth floor and we're going to find Professor Lockheart, if this is going happening as it did in the book." Harry said over his shoulder to Ginny, Ron and Hermione.
"Emma was right about us having an excuse to leave your Dad's ward, Ron," added Hermione. "I don't ever think I've seen Mrs. Weasley that mad! No wonder everyone took off!"
"Getting out was the only safe option, 'mione. Oh, look! There he is!"
Sure enough, they spotted their former Defense Against the Dark Arts professor peeking through the window on the double doors for the SPELL DAMAGE corridor.
Gilderoy Lockheart opened the doors as they approached.
"Hello there!" said the smiling, blond haired man. "Come for some autographs, have you?"
"Yes, we would really appreciate having your autograph to show our friends at school!" replied Hermione, enthusiastically.
"I do joined-up writing now, you know!"
"That's great Professor," said Harry.
Gilderoy had pulled a rather battered peacock-feathered quill out of his pocket. "So, how many autographs do you want?"
"Oh, I don't know, let's see; there's us four and then there's the twins, Fred and George . . . how about an half dozen for starts, Professor?" Ginny answered, barely suppressing a giggle.
"You all are calling me Professor. . . have we met?"
"You were our teacher at Hogwarts, remember?" Harry replied.
"Me, teach? Did I?" Lockheart looked startled for a moment, then smiled. "I must have been your favorite professor, then, for all of you to seek me out like this, what? How about I give you an even dozen, so you can give them to your little friends, too."
Just then, the ward Medi-witch poked her head out of a door at the far end of the corridor.
"Gilderoy, you're being naughty again, wandering off."
"These are some of my former students. They've come for autographs, don't you know." Gilderoy told her proudly.
"Well, isn't this exciting! Hello, dears. Gilderoy was quite famous. Why don't you all come in and you can have a nice visit."
Taking Professor Lockheart by the hand, she led him back down the hall to the far door. The kids looked at each other and started to follow.
"Well, here comes our first test. Remember . . . act surprised to see Neville." Harry whispered.