A/N – Chapter 7 has been updated and added back
Chapter 7 – Moving On
It had been 2 weeks since Dumbledore had explained to Sirius his understanding of magical coma Harry had succumbed to, when the horcrux within him had died, but Harry was yet to wake up.
Sirius had stayed at Hogwarts in the quarters arranged by Dumbledore since he had been declared fit by the healers at St. Mungo's post his acquittal by Wizongamot and he had spent all his time by side of Harry in the hospital wing, whose condition had not changed a bit.
While Sirius was tending to Harry, Dumbledore had been able to find Remus Lupin who was working in a muggle superstore in eastern London since Sirius was sentenced to Azkaban. Though Remus had been aware of Sirius' acquittal, he had not come to meet him still. He had been too ashamed to have doubted him for murders of James and Lily.
He had also felt guilty of not doing enough to ensure that Sirius was given a fair trial. He remembered that he was so angry that he had not even bothered to check with his friend as to what had transpired that night his friends had died and Harry was left as an orphan. He knew that he should have pushed Dumbledore for a trial for Sirius. Moreover, he had not even bothered to check with Dumbledore, as to where he had planned for Harry to live. He knew that at that time he had been too depressed due to James and Lily's untimely death and by the betrayal of his third friend. But the guilt and rage had won over common sense.
'No, I should have done more.' He thought. Guilt overwhelmed again on his conscience.
Dumbledore had however been able convinced him to come and meet Sirius. He had explained to him about what had happened at No.4 Privet Drive. The wolf in him had been so enraged on Dursleys, but he calmed it when he was sure that those vile muggles will pay for what they had done to only living link to his friend. Dumbledore had encouraged Remus to help Sirius at this crucial moment as he too needed moral support. Albus had been able to convince Remus that Sirius did not harbour any ill feelings towards him, and in fact had wanted him to come and support to help with Harry.
This had made Remus to agree to meet Sirius at Hogwarts. Dumbledore however had made him swear an oath of silence on Harry's condition, which Remus readily agreed to.
Very next day Remus had reached Hogwarts and he had gone straight to the hospital wing. Sirius on seeing Remus rushed to him and pulled him into a warm hug, which Remus returned with equal emotions.
A house elf had appeared with a tea and some sandwiches for them, which they gratefully took and thanked the elf, who had left then with a pop. While the two friends sat with each other over tea, they recounted their time at Hogwarts with James, Lily and Peter. On mention of Peter both vowed to hunt down the rat and kill him.
'Yes they would do that for James and Lily,.. and Harry,…yes, mostly for Harry.'
Remus had asked Sirius to be honest with him on what was going on as he had his own suspicions when he had spoken to Dumbledore. Sirius had instantly put some privacy charms around and then went on to explain to Remus, about what he had learnt from Dumbledore. Remus was shocked to hear about horcruxes and was disgusted at Petunia for how she had treated her own blood. Despite assurances from Albus, the wolf in him had cried for blood of Vernon and Petunia and may be for once he had agreed.
He promised the wolf that he would at one point pay a visit to Dursleys and let the wolf have his revenge at those who had harmed his cub. But at the moment, Harry was the one who was most important for both of them. He vowed that he will do everything in his power to help Sirius to take care of Harry.
It had been a week now that Remus had come to Hogwarts and was thankful to Dumbledore who had arranged for a quarter for him too to stay there. Even a week later there had been no change in Harry's condition. He had stayed with Sirius and each evening Sirius would talk to him about his fears for Harry and had ended up emptying a full bottle of fire whiskey. He could no longer see his friend drunk and depressed at the end of each day. He needed help for which he reached out to Dumbledore.
Together, Remus and Dumbledore were able to convince Sirius that now it was time to start taking care of his affairs at Gringotts and Ministry. Dumbledore also reminded Sirius that he surely needed to find a property soon to stay with Harry when he wakes up, since No.12 Grimmauld Place being locked up for so long was not in a liveable condition at the moment and that it was not the right place to raise a child. He told Sirius that he was convinced beyond doubt that when ready Harry will wake up, whatever time it may take.
The strength from his reunited friend and Dumbledore's conviction about Harry gave Sirius hope and he agreed to put his affairs in order.
Sirus had planned to visit Gringotts next day to take care of his financial affairs and reclaim Black vaults which had been frozen by Goblins when Sirius was imprisoned. He also thought of getting a property which would be perfect for Harry to be raised. Besides he also needed to go to ministry to get into his role as Lord Black. He would also need to reclaim his proxy rights as a Regent to Potter seat at Wizongamot.
Next day post breakfast, Sirius donned his best formal robes and dis-apparated from No. 12. He then re-appeared at the apparition point near Diagon Alley. He felt good to be back to the alley after spending so many years in the wizarding prison.
Though he wanted to roam around at the alley, he reminded himself of his priorities and confidently walked to the gates of grand white building in Diagon Alley which represented Gringotts which was the only wizarding bank in magical world. He reached the atrium and walked to a teller and asked for Revilgaz.
The goblin looked up from his desk and asked the purpose of his visit. Sirius told the teller goblin, "Lord Black wants to meet the Black Family account representative", in a firm but a polite tone.
The goblin finally nodded, "Of course, Lord Black. Please wait in the meeting room where Revilgaz will meet you." He motioned another goblin who politely escorted Sirius to the meeting room.
The meeting room was tastefully decorated with Venetian red table with very comfortable looking plush leather black chairs. The tapestry was of green heavy cotton which seem to have covered a large window overlooking Diagon Alley. As soon as Sirius sat down, a large tray with tea service and chocolate cookies and pastries appeared at the table.
Sirius poured himself a cup and stated to sip it. When he had finished his tea, an aged but very agile and experienced looking goblin entered the room and sat opposite to Sirius.
The goblin spoke, "Lord Black, welcome back to wizarding world. We are very happy to hear the news that the justice has been served. My name is Revilgaz and I am the goblin entrusted to manage the Black estate."
Sirius politely responded, "Thank you Revilgaz. I am sure that Black fortune had been in very capable hands and will continue to make us both richer with your experienced service."
He continued, "I have come here to formally claim the mantle of Lord Black and to claim the Black vaults in my name. I would also like to appoint myself an heir, and change the status of couple of family members. Once this is done, I have another business with which I would like your help. I hope this can be arranged to be completed today."
Revilgaz asked, "what is this other business that you spoke about, Lord Black? I can commit the timelines only once I have heard of it."
Sirius said, "That is fair Revilgaz. I need a property, large enough for accommodating a big family as well as many guests. There shall be a ball room, a training room, and big library. Also, it would be nice to have some space around the property so that the children or occupants could play a game or two of quidditch without being noticed by muggles. Also, of course for the standard Goblin fee, I would need the best goblin wards around the property. I trust that Black vaults have enough gold to manage the costs."
Revilgaz said, "Of course Lord Black. Blacks fortune earn more money only in interest as much such a property may cost. This may however take some time as we will need to scout for the available properties that meet your requirements. The other tasks could be performed in less than an hour."
Sirius was taken to the Black family vaults where he found the Black Family ring, which he claimed. He also with a written will declared Harry James Potter his legal heir. The only other change he requested for now was to add back Andromeda Tonks and Nymphodora Tonks back to Black family. Revilgaz told him that he will look at the properties and will reach out to him by owl latest in the next week where Sirius can choose the property he wanted to buy. Once the transfer of ownership would happen the goblins will immediately work on the wards. It would take approximately 3 weeks for the property to be ready. If he needed any alterations to existing one, it could take more weeks to accommodate changes. Sirius agreed and thanked the goblin for his services that day.
His next visit that day had been to the Ministry of Magic, where he claimed the Black seat at Wizongamot and registered himself as Regent for Lord Potter. The next course of business to claim the financial compensation he was provided for his wrongful incarceration. While he was returning from the finance department and saw Amelia speaking to a junior auror who was taking notes.
He had liked Amelia during his time at Hogwarts and though he had really loved her, nothing had come out of it as he never had courage to tell her how he felt about her and later he became busy with helping James and Lily when Harry was born and again when they needed to go into hiding . He had thought that Amelia also had feelings for him, but since she had always been angry with him during the school years. Later also she had not bothered to tried to contact or help him when he was arrested and sent to Azkaban even though she was also an Auror by then.
Coming out of the past, Sirius moved towards them and asked Amelia, "Hello Amelia. Glad to see you again. I wanted to talk to you. Could we go somewhere private." She just nodded and started to walk with him towards her office.
When they reached her office, Amelia offered him a seat at her desk. She went and sat behind her desk and Sirius settled in the chair opposite to her. He quietly observed the sparsely decorated office. There was a sturdy looking table, barely comfortable wooden chairs and 2 cupboards one of which was full of various books on hexes, jinxes, auror material, and wizarding laws to be upheld by DMLE, while the other was full of files which were put there in an organized manner. The rest of the office was filled with a lot of stacks of paperwork lying everywhere. At her desk there were 2 photographs, first being that of Amelia's sister and her husband, and the other was of a pretty young girl with strawberry blond hair bordering at red colour who must have been her niece Susan.
She asked him, "what can I do for you Lord Black."
Sirius responded, "I just wanted to thank you for helping me with Harry's case and my own trial. I am in your debt forever as I will get a chance to raise Harry when he wakes up."
He had so many questions in his head and since he had not sure that Amelia had ever had feeling for him, and the fact that she did not check on him all these years, he just tried to get a grip on his emotions.
Sirius asked looking at the picture of the girl at her desk, "This must be Susan. She is quite cute in this picture."
She told him about the deaths of her brother and sister in law during end of the first war, and how she had to take care of the young girl her brother had. Susan was a quiet and lovely child and Amelia had come to love her as her own.
Amelia also briefed Sirius on the status of Harry's case, "it is now being handled by a very professional and stern witch from the 'Department of Magical Children Affairs' named 'Ariana Johnson' who is famous for looking for the interests of the children first. The healers from St. Mungo's had done a complete scan for Harry which would list down all the maladies he had since birth as well as any vaccinations given, so that the treatment can be done properly. The list of injuries itself is long enough to imprison the Dursley's for a long time. Most probably they will get a long sentence and their own son would be needed to be sent to a muggle orphanage. It was an irony that it will happen to their own what they wanted for Harry."
She inquired about Harry's health as well as Sirius' plans for future. Sirius told her about Harry's condition and that Harry would be soon moved to St. Mungo's as Hogwarts will open soon and Albus doesn't want Harry to be kept there for various reasons.
Sirius asked her what he had wanted to for a long time, "Amelia can I ask you a question?"
Not being sure where this was going, she nodded.
He continued, "When we were at Hogwarts, you had always been hostile to me. I really don't remember doing anything to earn your wrath then. Please do tell why you hated me so much? Do you still hate me Amelia?"
She answered, "I did not ever hate you Sirius Black. I just disliked that despite being two years lower than us, you dared to date my best friend just to dump her later. I am sure you don't even remember her name now. My anger and wrath at you were justified though."
Sirius spoke again but his voice was raspy, "Are you sure Amelia, that it was the reason for your behaviour towards me and James? Or were you jealous?"
Unwilling to admit that she had liked him, she answered, "why would I be jealous?"
He spoke again but his voice was barely a whisper, but she still heard him clearly. He said, "because all that time since my first year, I wanted you to be. All the attention to those countless witches, whose names even today I do not remember, was to make you jealous."
Even though her heart was beating faster, she mischievously asked him, "why did you want to make me jealous Sirius?"
He whispered again ,"because I liked you since the first time, I saw you at Hogwarts." 'I actually loved you, still do, and I always will love you Amelia Bones.' he thought.
Her voice barely a whisper, "you did?" The emphasis on the past did not go unnoticed by her. But could she blame him? She had not even tried to talk to him when he was arrested for murders of James and Lily Potter despite knowing that James and Sirius were like brothers only not in blood. Instead she had been busy wallowing the deaths of her brother and his wife. She never even met him to ask how could he betray his best friend. She could have given him a chance to tell him of his innocence. But there was no point crying over spilt milk.
She also loved him as she did while they were at Hogwarts, but she needed to keep a distance from him as right now he solely needed to focus on raising the only child of their mutual friends. She sighed and with a heavy heart she asked him, "do you need anything else Lord Black."
Sirius had thought that if there was something between them, maybe there was still a chance he could get together with her. But he was heartbroken with her distant behaviour. Yet, a well-schooled mask of Lord Black which would not show any emotions came back. He also was aware that rather than his own love life raising Harry to face a Dark Lord who will come back (it was matter of when) was more important. He got up and thanked her again and dejectedly took his leave.
Before he left Amelia called out after him, "Lord Black, the trial for Dursley's is in the muggle court in Surrey. You would want to reach there at sharp 10:00 AM next Wednesday". As he reached outside the door, she heard him say, "Thank you, Madam Bones"
The next Wednesday, Sirius was present in the muggle court room before 10:00 AM. He had chosen a pristine Navy Blue colour suit for the occasion as he might be questioned as the new guardian of the boy and wanted to look immaculate business man as he was introduced to muggle social services team and police who had interviewed him during the week. Amelia and Ariana were also present for the hearing.
When Ariana Johnson had reached the muggle social services children division staff at Dursley's the behaviour of Dursleys and their comments towards Harry were sufficient to satisfy both women and police personnel about the neglect and abuse that had occurred. In fact, Vernon had tried to threaten them both and the police officer in plain clothes and was immediately arrested for threatening the government officers during the course of their duty and a police officer. Further rant by him and Petunia towards Harry had resulted in her arrest as well and Dudley being taken away by the social services team to an orphanage till, they could find a foster home for him.
The testimony of the aforementioned officers was sufficient for the judge, who was a mother of 2 kids, to find Dursleys guilty of the charges. It was also found that the Dursleys had been receiving a monthly stipend from a trust setup by Potters to raise Harry, which they had never used for him. In fact, Harry had been forced to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs. Sirius was however questioned on his reasons to seek custody of Harry as the judge wanted to be sure that Harry would not have to go through another such incident.
With help of Ariana and his attorney, Sirius had been able to convince the judge on his cover story of being a friend and a partner of Harry's father and that he had earlier conceded custody to Dursleys on assumption that Petunia being his blood will raise him with ample care, and that after death of Potters, he had to spend more time at business and had to travel constantly to Europe and Americas for business so he could not have been the right choice for raising the young child. He told the judge that he had immediately returned to England when he was informed on this unfortunate event and he felt guilty of not taking the boy with him earlier.
The judge also asked about how he intended to raise the child. Sirius informed the court that, he had decided to settle in England to raise Harry as the companies which he had in partnership with Harry's parents were doing well and he could devote his attention to his godson who will be inheriting the business on his 18th birthday as he himself did not have any family.
Judge seemed happy to hear that Harry will be well taken care of and granted custody of child to Sirius Black.
Amelia had been very happy to see a genuine smile at Sirius' face. She was happy that he will get to spend time with Harry when he wakes up and will legally have Harry's custody in both muggle and magical world. She congratulated him and he thanked her for her help and support. Not ready to fail him again, she silently vowed to herself, 'I will not fail you again Sirius. This time I will be there for you with whatever help you will ever need from me to raise young Harry, even if we can not be together.'
Post the hearing, Sirius apparated to the flat he was currently sharing with Remus while the Goblins were looking for a property to give Moony the good news.
Remus had been glad to see a genuine smile at Sirius' face when he told him about the hearing and that now Sirius had complete guardianship of Harry.
They both then left for St. Mungo's to check on the status of one Harry James Potter. Alas there has been no change to Harry's condition. Only change that they had seen was that due the potions regimen the healers had put Harry to, he was no longer a scrawny kid and had a good amount of weight on him. Even his skin had gained a shade of pink as against the pale complexion which he had when he was brought to the wizarding hospital.
Sirius had met Amelia a couple of more times during his visit to the Ministry and could tell that she did not hate him but he still felt dejected with her distant behaviour towards him.
Amelia on the other hand longed to be near Sirius and the farse of distant behaviour towards Sirius was eating at her. As they met more she had felt that they could atleast be friends with each other. Sirius was happy to be even only a friend with her.
They had met again in her office during Sirius' such visit at Ministry. She asked him, "So how is the search of property coming up Sirius? Did the Goblins reach out to you with any proposals."
When he told her that he was yet to hear back from the Goblins, she said, "Sirius, I can understand that you do not want to live at the Black House, especially when Harry wakes up, as he will need a nice and friendly environment, I want you to move into Bones Manor till you have built a relationship with Harry and he would be comfortable to move to a new house from there. In fact, both Harry and Susan are of same age and could benefit from that. Even Remus is welcome to live with us till you find a suitable place."
Sirius was hesitant but finally agreed to her proposition and thanked her for the offer.
He had told her about Dumbledore's suspicions about Voldemort and that though he wanted Harry to be prepared when he needed to face the Dark Lord, but at the same time he wanted him to live a happy and safe childhood which he deserves.
He said, "Voldemort is not really dead and will be back someday. I just want to make sure that I am always there for my godson. I am also aware that Harry will one day need to fight that bastard and I want to remain prepared and in shape when it happens so that I can be by the side of Harry then."
She asked him a question that had been nagging her since her first discussion with Dumbledore, "Why would Harry need to fight the dark lord. He is just a kid. What does he have to do with it?"
Sirius responded, "I can't really tell you the details due to an oath I had to give to Dumbledore, but Harry for sure is in thick of it. When Voldemort returns, he would want to finish what he started. He could never be able to forget that his reputation was tarnished by a mere boy of one year. He will come back to kill Harry and I cannot allow it. I would rather die fighting that bastard than allow him to harm my godson."
Amelia paled at the implication of Sirius' statement. She had never thought that the poor child will have to live with such a threat. He cannot really live till dark lord is either finally killed or he would kill Harry. Her heart went out for Harry and Sirius and she hugged him to get some strength from him.
Sirus continued, " I need a favour Harry has been moved to St. Mungo's under a false name and we do not want anyone especially wizarding Press to know of this. It would not go well with people to find that their saviour was kept at an undisclosed location by Dumbledore and now the child is in a coma and may die. Also, we cannot afford to give a chance to Death Eaters to strike at him when he is most vulnerable. We will need some security for him there without anyone knowing about it."
Amelia nodded and immediately made a Floo call from her fireplace to auror office and asked Moody to come to her office. She explained the situation to him and asked him to put his best resources to guard the child without anyone's knowledge. Moody informed her that Dumbledore had already reached out to him and he and some other people from old Order of Phoenix were currently acting as Harry's guard till the child wakes up and is moved to a secured location.
Sirius continued spend most of his time by Harry's side at St. Mungo's, whose condition was yet to change.
As requested by Amelia, Sirius had moved into Bones Manor. As promised she had extended the invitation to Remus, who had politely declined the offer, stating his new job as the reason. He had recently found a job at an apothecary in Diagon Alley. The owner was a close friend of Dumbledore and was aware of Sirius' condition. Another benefit that he was offered besides the additional 2 paid days on monthly basis, was availability of Wolfsbane potion. The owner had a flat above the shop and had offered the same to Remus at a minimal rent.
It had now been close to 2 months since Harry had been rescued from his relatives and was yet to wake up. Sirius was still hopeful that Harry will wake up once his mind and body are ready again.
Sirius had started to spend some of his time with Amelia and Susan. He had gotten to know Susan well and found that both Harry and Susan have had similar tragedy in their lives and he made sure that he gave her sufficient time besides what he spent with Harry. His relationship with Amelia which was for now friendly was getting better and both secretly hoped that things may get better for them but yet none was willing to take the first step.
Susan was an intelligent and brilliant child. She was very observant and had seen how both Sirius and her aunt Amelia looked at the other when they were not looking , but were yet to admit that they liked each other. She had liked Sirius from the day he had met her and was sad to find Harry was still to wake up. She wanted someone her age to be there to play with her and with whom she could talk about things she would not tell her aunt or Sirius. She felt that Harry could be like a sibling she did not have. Sirius had taken her to see Harry at the hospital and was sad to see him lying there with various tubes attached to his body and machines monitoring his stats.
Harry Potter had just left his parents and relatives in afterlife after spending close to 72 hours in the realm. He woke up suddenly and opened his eyes. He found that he could see without his glasses. He also felt better than he had ever in his life. He could breathe well and somehow an ache that had always been in his wrist was now gone. He also felt his head clearer than ever.
Suddenly the memories of last 72 hours in afterlife flooded his brain. He could also feel a separate set of memories which were not his own in his head but most of which were meticulously shut out in the back of his brain and which he did not want to ever see. He could also find a great deal of knowledge in his head which he had learn from Tom's memories, and gained from Merlin and the founders.
Harry Potter concluded that he must have been in a hospital as there were multiple tubes that were connecting him to multiple monitors which constantly beeped. He was confused as to how he reached there and he was mostly scared that he must have been very sick to be taken to a hospital and Vernon will be angry again and he will be beaten and starved as Harry was not to be taken to a doctor or hospital ever. Dursley's were scared that if Harry was taken to a hospital people will know the truth.
He slowly moved his head which ached and found a man sleeping in a chair nearby his bed. He somehow knew the man. But he was not sure how. He looked closely and spoke clearly before he fell unconscious again, "Uncle Siri! Is that you?"
Sirius had immediately woken up and called healer Adelicia Lerouge, who had been assigned to Harry's care, to check upon Harry. She had been vouched by Poppy who had done her mastery in healing magic along with Adelicia. He told her that he had felt as if Harry had woken from his long sleep and called out for him.
She immediately ran some scans and smiled at Sirius. She confirmed that Harry was no longer in coma but now asleep due to exhaustion from all the brain function that they had recorded. Sirius was relieved and immediately Floo called both Dumbledore and Amelia.
Dumbledore told Sirius that it was a very good sign and to call him once Harry was fully awake; and Amelia was really happy for Sirius as she was aware that how relieved he must be feeling now. She told him that she will be there as soon as possible with Ariana Johnson.
Harry woke up again later that day and found that almost all of the tubes that had gone into him were now no longer there. He looked again at his bedside and found a familiar face smiling down at him.
"Welcome back to the land of living pup", said Sirius as he smiled at his godson. He asked him, "Do you remember me, Harry?"
Harry tried to focus and replied, "Uncle Sirius?"
Sirius nodded at him and told him, "Yes Harry, I am your godfather Sirius Black"
Harry asked, "what happened Uncle Siri?".
Harry calling him by the nickname he had given him when he was one-year old, brought tears in Sirius' eyes. He composed himself as he needed to have a very important conversation with his godson. Sirius spent next hour explaining to Harry starting from what had happened at Dursleys and how he had been in a magical coma for last 2 months. Harry was surprised how about 72 hours in afterlife realm could be so long in the realm of living.
Even though Harry had been up for only a couple of hours, he was exhausted again, and healers gave him some dreamless potion for him to sleep. He was asleep as soon his head had hit the pillow.
To keep the anonymity for Harry, Amelia had to be discrete when she reached St. Mungo's. She asked to meet the patient, giving out the fake name given for Harry. She was then sent to the secured room in the hospital.
When she reached Harry's room, she saw Sirius lovingly running his hands through Harry's hair who was sleeping peacefully. Sirius smiled at her which she returned with equal fervour. She was so happy to see Sirius like this. She smiled at the thought that 'one day Sirius would be a great father.'
Next day Harry was visited by Dumbledore , Amelia and Ariana Johnson. Harry had been told by his parents that Dumbledore was a master manipulator and therefore he was not very happy to see him, as he was aware from his discussions with Sirius that it was him, who had left Harry to suffer at Dursleys with not even once checking on his wellbeing. However, Sirius had tried to assuage his concerns by telling him that Dumbledore was now trying to mend his ways and will be a great help in fight with Dark Lord, a thought that had been echoed by his parents.
Amelia had been introduced to Harry as the one who managed the wizarding police. Harry had been only 5 years old but he had an intelligence which was above par and he was mature beyond his years, which was clearly visible in his captivating emerald eyes. Ariana Johnson also introduced herself to Harry and spoke to him to explain the situation with his muggle relatives and about court's order for his custody be given to Sirius with regular visits and reviews by her. She then wished him a good health and left for work.
Harry was happy beyond measure that he did not needed to live with Dursleys ever again. Had his parents not told him about Sirius he would have been susceptible to be living with Sirius.
Harry had keen observation skills which had allowed him to survive at Dursleys for so long. Also, his discussion with his parents and others about things that no 5 years old had to hear in the Afterlife realm had forced him to grow up much faster and matured him beyond his age.
While he had been lying in the hospital bed, he had been observing the way his godfather and Amelia had been looking at each other, and had concluded that there was more to what met the eyes. He was happy that his godfather after his time in prison had some chance at love in his life. He raised an eyebrow at his god father which made Sirius and Amelia blush. They were also shocked by the rare display of that expression by Harry who was just 5. Sirius and Amelia both immediately understood that Harry was much mature and smart than he seemed.
Dumbledore had also arrived at the room to see Harry. He had seemed genuinely happy to see Harry up and talking animatedly with his godfather. When Dumbledore introduced himself, Harry felt a rage building within himself to see the person who had left him in the hell that was No. 4 Privet Drive, for those years to bear the brunt of Dursley's rage and hatred. However, he kept his temper under control. He wanted to see what Dumbledore had to offer, even as an explanation, and he could wait to decide how to go forward with the old man. Living with Dursleys and his experience at primary school he had gone to and the neighbours at Privet Drive, he had developed a lack of trust for the adults, and a lot of patience too.
Dumbledore tried to keep a mask of a face with a smile as he greeted Harry, Sirius and Amelia, however, could see an underlying feeling of regret and guilt which he was trying to hide. Lily had told Harry clearly that Dumbledore will be a key ally in defeating Voldemort, hence he had decided to control his anger on old man till he had listened to him.
As expected, the adults wanted to know as to what had happened to Harry from his own point of view. Harry patiently explained what had happened from his point of view at Dursleys till he had lost consciousness. He also explained to them about his experience in Afterlife realm, while withholding information on being declared an heir by all the founders as well as Merlin. He however told what he had learnt from the founders, and Merlin.
Dumbledore had been the master of Elder wand, the wand given by Death itself to the Peverell brother, since he had defeated Grindelwald and had become an icon of light. He however had been having trouble with the wand since Harry had woken up from his coma.
He could only infer one thing from it. Potters had been rumored to have descended from the Peverell's. The allegiance of wand had seemed to changed. Wand had definitely chosen a new master, which was rare as Harry had not bested him.
His fear was confirmed by the answer from Harry's discussion on Hallow's with his ancestor. Harry was already the owner of the invisibility cloak as Dumbledore was merely a keeper of it. James had left it with him on Dumbledore's request before he had died but with a clear expectation of it being returned. He will return it to Harry at the right moment. Wand also had chosen Harry as its master without its owner being beaten, but that could be a clause with Death and the Peverell brother about a rightful heir. Not much was known about the hallows. Only one more thing to find and the boy will be the Master of Death. Harry then proceeded to tell Dumbledore that it did not give the title as is rumoured. The owner of all three actually become immune to anything that could kill the owner before his right time. When the time comes, Death itself will come and take him to afterlife as a friend.
Dumbledore thanked Harry for the explanation and told him that both the wand and invisibility cloak will be kept for him till he can take them rightfully at age of eleven.
Harry also explained that he could feel a lot of information and memories in his head that he had inherited from Tom and also the information and lost knowledge imparted by founders and Merlin himself. He acknowledged with grace that he needed help to learn to use it practically. He also sheepishly confirmed that he could feel a lot of power constantly trying to get away from him, which he needed help controlling to avoid any catastrophe for himself and others.
He also confirmed that there were certain things which he could not divulge as requested by the one imparting the information had prohibited to do so till Harry had confidence in the person and a level of trust was built. He also explained his parents' logic that he will need to learn more than what Voldemort ever knew on dark arts, even though he had received great deal of knowledge of dark arts from Salazar Slytherin himself.
Dumbledore thanked him for his honesty and told him that though he was not happy that Harry at such a young age would need to start learning dark arts, but he will help with whatever was in his power to prepare him with whatever was needed to destroy Voldemort for ever.
Harry thanked Dumbledore for his honesty and said, "I can see that we can build a level of trust where we can talk freely on anything. I will make all the effort from my end, and I am happy professor that you too are willing to go that mile."
Dumbledore smiled and nodded. Sirius and Amelia were horrified though on such declaration related to dark arts. Sirius told them that he had in fact run away from his house at an age of 16 years due to his parents expecting him to practice dark arts and join Voldemort. His brother had infact joined Voldemort shortly thereafter and was later killed by Voldemort due to having developed cold feet. He had however like promised Harry that he too like Dumbledore will do everything in his power to help him get rid of Voldemort. Blacks had a huge library at their disposal in their family home and Dumbledore told Harry that he would provide him access to his personal library when Harry will be at Hogwarts.
Dumbledore meanwhile had spoken to the healers and guards and thanked them profusely. The healers had confirmed that Harry will soon be walking and running in coming weeks as there were no physical injuries. His muscles just needed adjustment due to lack of use for months that he had spent in bed. He then wished Harry, Sirius and Amelia a goodbye and left for Hogwarts.
3 weeks later, Harry was finally declared fit to leave St. Mungo's. Harry and Sirius expressed their gratitude towards the healers for taking care of him.
Sirius brought Harry to Bones Manor to live with Amelia and Susan till they can get a property which Goblins were looking for. However, as of now there had been no progress on that front.
When Harry and Sirius reached Bones Manor, Harry had been amazed at the size of the manor which could easily house at least 10 people. Bones were not as well off as Blacks or Potters but they had done well. Amelia had told him to call her Amelia instead of Madam Bones, which Harry had tried with minimal success initially and Sirius has requested that Harry use his nick name that he had given him as a toddler.
He was also introduced to Susan, who he had immediately liked. She was cute and she was smart. He was able to get along with her instantly and both had started to behave like siblings. This had pleased both Amelia and Sirius to a great extent. Later, Harry also asked Sirius if he could invite Neville who was his godbrother. Sirius told him that he will meet and discuss this with Augusta Longbottom, who was Neville's grandmother.
Soon Neville also became a regular visitor at Bones Manor and both Harry and Neville became very good friends. Before meeting Harry, Neville had been a very shy boy, however with Harry who was now getting out of his shell that he had been used to while living with Dursleys, had a positive effect on Neville. Augusta was extremely pleased with this and had invited Harry and Susan to visit Longbottom Manor at any time. Both Harry and Susan, however had found the old lady a very strict and powerful woman and spent most of their time at Bones Manor.
Amelia insisted that they celebrate Harry's 6th birthday which had brought tears in the eyes of the young boy Harry was extremely grateful to Amelia and Susan and thanked them profusely. He had also been very happy and thankful to receive so many gifts for the first time.
Sirius had given him a framed picture of his parents which Harry had immediately kept at the table beside his bed at the room where he was staying at Bones Manor and had hugged Sirius tightly thanking him. Amelia had given him a journal and a self-inking quill, which Harry was thrilled to see. He decided to write his thoughts about everything in the journal. He thanked again Ameila with a hug, which brought tears in her eyes as Harry had previously never initiated a hug. He had rather flinched when touched suddenly. Both Amelia and Sirius cursed Dursleys for this.
Susan had given Harry a Card that she had made herself and which said, 'To my best friend on his birthday'. Harry had been touched with the gesture and had thanked her also by telling her that she was his first ever friend.
Neville had also given him a picture which had been taken during his and Harry's parents time at Hogwarts. The five friends in the picture were smiling and Alice and Lily hugged each other while Frank and James shook hands. James was finally seen hugging Sirius and Lily and Alice smiled at the love between the brother like friends. The picture will again go back to the loop.
It was the first ever birthday celebration after his parents' death as Dursleys never ever even acknowledge the date and he had never been given a gift. Susan was in tears when she had heard from her aunt, how Harry had been treated by his muggle relatives and promised to be a great friend for him.
A/N- Please review