After a while, Regulus fell asleep on the couch while Sirius continued to look at the fireplace, hoping his grandparents would be back soon. After an hour of waiting, the fireplace flared green and Arcturus stepped out, followed by Melania. When Melania saw that Regulus was sleeping, she chuckled.
"I'll get him to bed, and I will explain everything to him in the morning," she said quietly.
"Good, get him to bed, and I'll explain things to Sirius," Arcturus replied.
Melania nodded. "Have a good evening, Sirius," she said. She then removed the monitoring charms.
"Did you monitor us?" Sirius asked.
"Just as a precaution," she responded with a smirk. "But I see that you listened to me. Now, I need to get Regulus to bed. Good night, Sirius."
"Good night, Grandmother," Sirius said. Melania levitated Regulus to his room. Once they were out of earshot, Arcturus turned to Sirius.
"Did this attack happen in your other timeline?" he asked.
Sirius shook his head. "Not during my years here. But Harry did tell me something about Mrs. Norris being petrified in his second year, though he didn't say much more than that because I might have gone on a rant about that stupid cat." Arcturus glared at him. "Alright, fine. Not stupid, but still."
"Well, we have decided that we will wait to see if there is another attack, which something tells me there will be, and if so, then we will have to put restrictions down, which we do not want to do," Arcturus explained. "We need to get to the bottom of first of all, where this chamber is, and secondly, who is behind this. Lastly, I need you to inform me immediately if you hear the hissing again. We need to figure out what the hissing is, and if it's a snake as we believe it is, then what the snake is saying."
"I was going to tell you immediately, but Mrs. Norris being petrified kind of delayed me," Sirius said with a shrug.
"I need you to do your best to let me know as soon as you hear it again," his grandfather said firmly.
"Understood," Sirius stated.
Arcturus sighed. "If only you had not interrupted your godson just to go ranting about that cat, we would have more information we could use," he said.
"I know, I have a big mouth," Sirius admitted.
"That you do," his grandfather agreed. "Which brings me to something I don't think we've had a chance to talk about yet. Why did you sneak off to the Board meeting?"
"Er, I just wanted to see how the governors reacted and what they would do," Sirius confessed. "I know I would have found out the results eventually, but I wouldn't have found out the exact details."
"Did you honestly think you were going to be undetected?" Arcturus asked. "You were lucky Professor McGonagall didn't catch you."
Sirius shook his head. "I didn't think it through very well," he told him. "I was only thinking about how to not be seen or heard. I sort of forgot about smell."
"Obviously," Arcturus stated. "How did you get there?"
"I used James' cloak, as you know, and that's how I got out of the school, then I Apparated to that building," Sirius said.
"Sirius Orion, you are not an adult anymore! You cannot just simply trust your eleven-year-old body to Apparate you in one piece! Do you realize how lucky you are that you didn't leave a piece of you behind?" Arcturus scolded.
Sirius flinched. This was the first time his grandfather had called him by his first and middle name. "Yes, I realize," he responded. "I'm sorry, Grandfather."
"Not to mention your dog form," Arcturus continued. "Your eleven-year-old body is not used to transforming into a dog. You could have had trouble changing a hand, or a foot." Sirius nodded, realizing he wasn't done yet. "If you had wanted to go to that meeting, Sirius, all you had to do was ask me. I would have found a way for you to attend without having to risk your life. As the Heir to the House of Black, you would have been able to join me. Next time you want to attend something, don't just sneak off. Tell me first. If there is not a way for you to attend SAFELY, I will tell you so. But if there is a way, then I will make it happen. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Grandfather," Sirius said with a sigh. "I'm sorry, I won't try Apparating again until I'm seventeen, and I won't transform into a dog again."
"If you want to transform into your dog form, then I can help you retrain your body to do so, but you will not attempt it without supervision. Is that a deal?"
"Yes, that's a deal," Sirius grinned.
"Good. Would you like to remain here for tonight, or would you like to go back to Gryffindor Tower?" he asked.
Sirius widened his eyes. "I can stay here?" he asked.
"You may," Arcturus confirmed. "If you ever need to get away, then you can always stay here, as long as you let us know first, of course. Now come. I'll show you to your room. I will inform Professor McGonagall that you will not be back until morning. She will pass the message along to your friends." With that, Sirius headed into a room that looked a lot like his room in Black Manor.
As he lay there, Sirius thought, I hope they figure out what's going on with the Chamber of Secrets. With that thought in mind, he fell asleep.