Sirius stared at his godson his expression unreadable. Harry had just finished telling his godfather he was not completely human. The trial Sirius should've had long ago had been nearly anti-climatic and he had been quickly cleared. They also had given him compensation for placing him in Azkaban without determining his guilt. Umbridge had protested and said that Sirius should be grateful just to be free and shouldn't expect compensation at all. It hadn't been Sirius's decision though, as he had asked for nothing at all. Umbridge was shot down by most of the Wizengamot, except those of darker persuasion like Lucius Malfoy who thought that Sirius should go straight back to Azkaban whether he was innocent or not. This was only because if Sirius went back to prison then the Black Fortune would likely fall to his wife Narcissa. Unfortunately, for Lucius Malfoy, Sirius had a will and everything went to his godson Harry.
"I always knew there was something unusual about your mother," Sirius spoke finally after several minutes of silence. Sirius seemed to be processing the information Harry had revealed. "She was very good at acting like everyone else, though she was certainly more studious than most students, but there were times when she would do something that would have at the very least surprised someone if they were paying attention.
"Most children aren't very observant though, so mostly nobody saw or paid attention when she would do something without a wand just for example. There was several times, particularly when your father was pestering her about a date, that I, at least, saw when her green eyes would spark fiercely and she seemed to radiate a strange power.
"Partly that can be explained by the fact that your mother had quite the temper, which I suppose goes along with being a redhead, but there was always something strange about her aura during that time. Those children not from pureblood background, likely wouldn't have recognized that what their classmate was doing was rather unusual at the least
However, someone raised in a pureblood home, especially someone like me, that was raised very traditionally, in a very dark family, would have recognized the fact that no child should be able to do the things your mother did on a few occasions. Even Lily being spitting mad wouldn't necessarily account for it."
"You can see auras?" Harry asked in Sirius nodded.
"I've always been able to if I concentrate," Sirius said shrugging, playing off his ability. "Unlike most witches and wizards I don't need a spell for a person's aura to become visible."
"So what would my mother being spitting mad have to do with her doing unusual magic?" Harry asked.
"Because when a magicals emotions are high there is always some kind of accidental magic. It is wild, unpredictable, not controlled. I always knew your mother was a powerful witch, but those occasions I mentioned, just proved it," Sirius explained.
Harry suddenly remembered his grandfather telling him the same thing back when he had been rescued him and also just a few days ago.
"I'm grateful to your grandfather for rescuing you and the Dursleys will pay for what they did," Sirius announced.
"Ah...Sirius there's no need to get revenge on the Dursleys, granddad has already taken care of that. He was quite incensed at their treatment of me," Harry explained hesitantly.
"Oh?" Sirius asked suddenly very interested.
Harry could tell that Sirius really wanted to know what Dave had done so told him.
"I love it!" Sirius gaffed, laughing so hard that he nearly fell off the chair he was sitting in. "I'm going to have to congratulate your grandfather on a truly unique punishment. I just know we are going to get along splendidly."
"Sirius," Harry began looking a little sickened. "These are human beings we are talking about."
"Save your sympathy for someone who deserves it," Sirius told his godson firmly. "From all you told me of the Dursleys they deserved everything your grandfather did to them and more. I know you're just a child right now, but you'll soon realize that sometimes such measures are necessary.
"All the Dursleys had to do was to treat you decently and not like a slave and allow you to be a child. Giving chores teaches responsibility, but to have you work from early morning to late at night, with no decent food and no protection like a cloak depending on the weather and whether or not you were working outdoors is cruel and thoughtless.
"I admit that me and Reggie never had chores, but perhaps, if we had I wouldn't have been so much of a bully. My family and yours share many similarities, as I was abused to, as my parents could be quite cruel much like the Dursleys, the only difference being was mine had magic. My mother took great delight in using the Cruciatus Curse on me to get me to cooperate. Those are the days I really don't like to remember."
"What's the Cruciatus Curse?" Harry asked curiously.
"It's a curse that sends signals of great pain to the brain and you can be driven insane after less than five minutes of being under it," Sirius explained. "The pain is so great that you feel as if your very flesh is being melted away on the outside while on the inside you feel as if every nerve ending you have is on fire. It is classed as an Unforgivable by the Ministry of Magic and being caught using it is an automatic life sentence in Azkaban prison."
"Your parents actually used such a horrible spell on their own son?" Harry asked his expression and tone totally horrified.
"Yes, they did, although it was never for more than a few seconds, as they didn't want to make me a drooling imbecile after all. As I told you in St. Mungo's my family was actually darker then their name, Harry and they wanted me to become a Death Eater after I graduated. They believed in Voldemort's idea about cleansing the wizarding world of Mudbloods and half bloods. They weren't happy when I was sorted into Gryffindor instead of Slytherin. It's one of the reasons I ran away when I was 16. You'll learn, as you go through life that human beings aren't made to be nice, Harry. We simply aren't programed that way, although I know that's probably a hard concept to understand to someone who is just now 11," Sirius told his godson with no glimmer of humor in his eyes.
"Granddad has tried to tell me the same thing," Harry said.
"I'll try my best to keep my opinions to myself from now on, at least until you're older and have some experience in the real world," Sirius promised. "Part of the reason that we're now in part two of the war, even if we're kind of in a holding pattern right now, is because Dumbledore urged the Wizengamot to not authorize anything except non-lethal spells Stunners and such, which means that we didn't deal with the problem last time. He truly believes that everybody deserves a third and even a fourth chance to change no matter if they've raped and murdered on their own free will. Trying to tell him that people like that aren't going to suddenly change their views gets you absolutely nowhere. Alright, some might have joined due to the threats to their families and yes, those type of people do deserve a second chance, but not the hard core Death Eaters."
"I happen to agree with that opinion," Harry said putting aside his intense dislike of killing, as he knew he was going to have to in this war if he wanted to survive. "I know I'm going to have to kill Voldemort at least and possibly some of his Death Eaters and while I understand that these people aren't going to change, that doesn't mean I like it. I really don't even want to kill Voldemort much less even more people, but granddad has taught me that the only way to win this war is to put a permanent end to the problem. Voldemort at least can't be put in prison, as someone would just find a way to break him out or he would find a way to escape. No place, even a prison that is supposedly impenetrable, is perfect and there are likely holes in the security that someone can exploit if they know what they are," Harry said. "All it would require is for someone to get careless when they feed the prisoners for example, as I'm sure they have to open the door to do that."
"No, they just pass it to you through a slot in the door, but still I see your point," Sirius said. "You're right, it's likely that there are holes in Azkaban security. I'm not exactly sure how it can be done, but that doesn't mean it's not possible."
"You accepted the news that I'm not exactly human better than I thought you would," Harry said finally as he rose and hugged his godfather, which Sirius accepted with pleasure.
"Why did you think I wouldn't accept the news?" Sirius asked.
"Because the British purebloods aren't exactly known for their tolerance of anyone they consider a half-breed, with exceptions of course," Harry said.
His godson did have a point, Sirius admitted, as he suddenly understood his godson's fears of rejection. Being raised like he had would make him fear rejection above everything else. Even if Harry had only been with the Dursleys for five years that didn't mean that their treatment hadn't left deep scars on the young man's soul.
The Sirius Black that had just gotten out of Azkaban a week or so ago was totally different from the one that had gone into that shithole. He had his own psychological not to mention physical damage to deal with. He knew it would take a lot of effort to recover his physique, as right now he looked like somebody who had been suffering from a prolonged illness and had been eating hardly at all. It would take months until he was attractive to the females of the species again.
"I will be forever grateful to this David Rossi you mentioned for caring enough to locate you and take you in."
"Ah, Sirius? Sídhe love children, just so you know and since I was his grandson well, he would have gone to the end of the world looking for me and making sure that those guilty of not treating me right were punished. They are known for rescuing them from families that abuse them and leave a homunculus in their place. That homunculus of course, gets killed in short order whether they just sicken and die or if they get run over by a car. Such things aren't meant to last very long. The child is then immediately whisked away to Tír na nÓg, where they are nursed back to health, loved and cared for until they are grown."
"What happens after that?" Sirius asked.
"Well, whichever sídh kidnapped the child tries to find something that interests them. Metal work for example as the sídhe are known as great metal workers. You can make many great things from metal if you know what you're doing. It can even be turned into a career, as that type of thing has many different applications. Also, they're great woodworkers and many things are created from all different types of wood. In any case, they are returned to the world after they are grown, so long as they want to go and as long as they haven't spent to much time in the Otherworld."
"What happens if they come back and they've been too long in the Otherworld?" Sirius as curiously.
"Well depending on the length of time they've been gone they either rapidly age till they match what age they are currently or they turn to dust. Time passes differently in the Otherworld at least if you leave the realm of the sídhe that is probably slowing time down for you so that you can go home if you want without being too much older as when you left. That's what Dave did for me so I could come back still looking my proper age for attending Hogwarts. If it wasn't for that blasted prophecy I would've been happy to never return."
"Why would you want to return?" Sirius asked.
"Do I need to give you some examples?" Harry asked looking at his godfather seriously. "My parents were murdered by an insane maniac who was determined to kill an infant that wasn't even out of nappies yet. Then instead of landing with the proper guardians that my parents wanted to raise me I am put in the last place I should have gone, except into the arms of people who supported Voldemort, by a meddling old man who didn't care that he was breaking the law. He had already made the decision that he was going to put me exactly where he wanted to, sending the groundskeeper Hagrid to pick me up, someone who can't use magic. He denied you your legal right to raise me, which is why you chased after Pettigrew in the first place and yet Dumbledore didn't even bother to insist you get a trial and just assumed you were guilty, since you were well known to be close to my father James Potter."
"I think it's more likely he left me there, because I would've had automatic legal right to raise you if I had been free," Sirius snorted cynically, a very unusual event for the Gryffindor, but then, being in prison changed you, especially if you hadn't committed the crime you were accused of and never had a trial.
"I agree with you, as I had come to the same conclusion, even if Dumbledore himself has not yet admitted that's why he did it, even in his own mind. Or if he has he's not about to tell us or granddad unless it's forced out of him. I wouldn't class Dumbledore as evil, he's just so used to being right and getting his own way that he really didn't think through what he was doing very carefully. He certainly doesn't care about stomping all over other peoples rights if it suits his own purposes."
"Well, you sure are cynical for an 11-year-old, although I certainly understand that cynicism," Sirius said. "Sometimes you just have experiences that make you cynical and suspicious by nature and what you went through with your parents murder and your relatives abuse certainly qualifies. I now better understand why you didn't want to return, but had to because of the prophecy. You couldn't let someone like Voldemort take over the entire world and kill millions of people."
"Granddad and I watched Dumbledore, through a pool that can show you just about anything. It can show you the past or the present or even the future, though there are drawbacks to it as well. Also, the goblins were a big help in putting together a total picture of Albus Dumbledore, who they don't like either, because he's so arrogant with his own self-importance and he considers races like the goblins beneath him or at least doesn't consider them to be important in the grand scheme of things, which to me is very shortsighted. He left me with a Horcrux in my scar, one that Voldemort made accidentally. He had all these plans for me and was going to manipulate me to my death just because he didn't know of a way to have it removed without killing the vessel. He didn't bother to check with any other species, the goblins, the dwarves the centaurs, because deep down he doesn't believe that anybody else could possibly have a solution to such a problem other than humans. If the great Albus Dumbledore doesn't know how to do something then it supposedly can't be done, which is very idiotic if you ask me."
"He was going to do what?" Sirius roared furious. "He was going to manipulate you into probably facing Voldemort and die just so the Horcrux would be gone."
"Now you know one reason why I dislike him so much," Harry said simply. "I'll work with him until Voldemort's gone, then if I never see him again it will be too soon. I will neither miss nor mourn him when he dies."
"I don't blame you, as I won't miss him either, even though I've known him since I was 11 years old," Sirius said. "I can now see that he let Remus, James and I get away with too much, because the Gryffindors were his favorites, since that's the house he was in when he was a student. I now know that we should have been punished more then a few detentions for some of the pranks we pulled that seriously hurt other people."
"You were children Sirius, children aren't exactly known for their good sense at least most of them aren't," Harry said hugging his godfather. "Being in Gryffindor from what I know just exacerbated those traits you already had for they are known from rushing in where even angels fear to tread."
"That's the truth," Sirius said finally laughing his whole body relaxing. "The three of us along with Pettigrew of course had some fun times. I still can't believe that Peter betrayed us like he did. I suppose he never really felt part of our group and we kind of did consider him a tagalong. Still, he was one of us, even if none of us was close to him, as we were to each other so I just don't understand how he could have joined the Death Eaters and led Voldemort directly to James and Lily's door."
"He only pretended to be your friend, Sirius," Harry said gently. "He might've started out as a true friend, but it's so easy to be led astray, especially when you're young. I would guess that whoever recruited him promised to give him exactly what he wanted. Not everybody is able to standup to immense pressure and a lot just fold under it."
"Probably Malfoy since he was a fifth year when we started school," Sirius said in a cynical tone. "He should have a son your age so you'll be attending Hogwarts with him. I believe his name is Draco. Peter always was the weak one, the one that was always bullied when we weren't around, even if we usually were together. I suppose James and I didn't treat him or Remus as well as we should have."
"Still, the decision was his to make," Harry told his godfather. "You might not have been as close to Peter as you were to my father, but that's no reason for him to betray the three friends that he spent seven years with in the same dorm. You did the best you could. You offered your friendship and it's not your fault if he didn't accept. As Gryffindors, you were totally innocent of the manipulation that those older and supposedly wiser could do to someone like you and your friends.
"For example you had absolutely no experience to know that Dumbledore was nothing but a manipulative old coot. He was once a good man, but ever since Tom Riddle came to Hogwarts he started to change. He had absolutely no one to keep him on the correct path and he began to believe he was infallible. However, your human, so that means you're hardly infallible, but a lot of times people lose sight of that if they get their way for to long and that's exactly what happened to Dumbledore. Too many people are so in awe of that manipulative old codger that they believe he's right about everything and that's even when it's obvious that he's not."
"When you believe you know everything and don't take others opinions into account," Sirius realized.
"Exactly," Harry agreed smiling. "You just have to promise yourself that you'll never fall for his silver tongued bullshit again, that you won't take everything he says at face value. I'm going to remind him of that fact if he dares try to get me involved in any of his schemes and granddad has already said that he's going to keep a very close eye on the headmaster and he won't like the results if he goes to far."
"I imagine that your granddad isn't too happy with the headmaster," Sirius suggested with an evil smirk.
"That's the understatement of the millennium," Harry snorted with good humor lacing his voice. "Dumbledore was at least partially responsible for his daughter's and son-in-law deaths and while granddad realizes it wasn't totally Dumbledore's fault that doesn't mean he isn't most displeased. While Dumbledore was only partly responsible for my parent's deaths he was totally responsible for placing me into an abusive environment. He didn't even bother to knock on the door to meet the people inside the house just left me on their doorstep like some kind of parcel at the beginning of November. He thought surely Petunia would love me as I was her sister's child after all and Dave disabused him of that notion when they met at Gringotts.
"He told the headmaster that he needed to really get back out into the world as he had no idea about how people really thought or felt. Yes, there're a lot of good, decent people out there that would've taken me in and treated me as their own, but just because you're related is no indication that you get along and he found out that Lily wasn't really related to Petunia at all. Even if my mother had been blood related Petunia still would've acted the same, because granddad read her mind and told me she is one sick twisted individual."
"That doesn't surprise me in the slightest, as I never did like her. I can't see her husband being any better, so he very likely deserves his fate too," said Sirius. "I would love to meet this David Rossi you've told me about."
"You can do that right now if you like," Harry offered. "He really wants to meet you too, but wanted me to explain to you about my heritage so you wouldn't be surprised that I actually do have living blood relatives, even if they're not exactly human."
"That doesn't matter to me," Sirius said firmly. "You're my godson and I love you and have since the day you were born. I would like to thank your granddad for looking after you so well. I would be grateful if that was the only thing he had done for you, but the punishment he brought down on the Petunia and her husband was very appropriate and I want to congratulate him for it, thank him for looking after your best interest instead of his own like so many do, including Dumbledore."
"I'll call granddad now and so the two of you can start to get to know each other," Harry said smiling.
"Is he going to let you stay with me?" Sirius asked worriedly.
"If that's what I want then yes, he will," Harry said. "He said it's my decision, even though he's my grandfather. He said I can come back to the Otherworld to visit him, grandma and my cousins anytime I like, but that you wouldn't be around forever and that you were the person my parents assigned to look after me if anything should happen to them. He said that even half sídhe live a lot longer then mortals, even magicals and that I need to take this opportunity to get to know you, because you wouldn't be around for more than a few hundred years at most and that's only if you don't get killed when Voldemort returns in a few years."
"I'm going to try my best to live as I haven't had much chance to do that being locked up in Azkaban," Sirius promised his fears assuaged.
"Good, because I want you to live a very long time and not get yourself killed just because you rush in like a Gryffindor," Harry told his godfather giving him a hug yet another hug. "I'll contact grandad now and he should be here in a few minutes."
Sirius watched as Harry wandered away and saw him with his head bent as if talking to someone and saw something in his hands, likely something similar to a mirror that could be used to communicate magically.
Harry finished his conversation and came back to sit across from his godfather. "Granddad will be here in a few minutes."
Sirius nodded and though he was curious about how his godson had communicated with his grandfather he decided to save his questions for later.
~~~Dave and Harry~~~