Trigger Warnings: mentions child abuse and language
Ch 19 Until You're Old and Wrinkly
It was a tense moment. The sound of the clock seemed overly loud.
~Tick Tock Tick Tock~
Harry's heart was pounding a deafening counter rhythm. He felt sick. This was his dirty little secret.
No, that was wrong. It was the Dursley's dirty little secret.
He didn't realize he was trembling until Sirius spun him around, and sank to a knee in front of him. He gently started talking, ignoring the audience.
If they were rude enough to listen then they had no right to judge what he was about to say.
"Harry. Look at me." Harry took a long moment to comply, but Sirius waited on him. Slowly his godson raised his eyes to meet his own.
"This…" he pointed to the cupboard and towards the now cowering Dursleys, "It's not your fault Pup." He glared over at the Dursleys. "What Voldemort did to your parents was wrong. What the Dursleys did to you was equally wrong." He sighed. "There's good and bad in all of us, Harry. But one thing I can promise you, the Dursleys are never going to touch your life again. And you're going to stay with me until you are old and wrinkly. Got it?"
He pulled Harry into a hug. Harry was not used to physical affection and stiffened for a moment before getting over the initial surprise and returning his hug tightly.
"Now, do you want to stay and watch us punish them or would you rather not watch?" Harry's eyes widened as he was being given a choice. "You're not going to hurt them are you?" Harry asked.
Amelia, who had been keeping an eye on the Dursleys and couldn't help but overhear Sirius's and Harry's conversation with compassion hidden well behind an austere mask of professionalism she assured Harry, "They will be obliviated, Harry. That means they will forget you and everything to do with the magical world." She explained, "It's obvious they aren't fit guardians and should be prosecuted for their treatment of you. But due to the Statute of Secrecy, we are limited in what we can do legally to them and they are the Queen's subjects and not under our jurisdiction even though you are. You can always apply for redress through the Muggle government if you want?"
Harry shook his head rather emphatically indicating that he'd rather not go that route.
Sirius nodded, "They won't be physically harmed. Though I wouldn't mind seeing them chucked into Azkaban I'm afraid muggles aren't put in there."
Moody who had been shamelessly observing the interchange grunted, "Depends on what your definition of 'hurt.' is. I'm not in a particularly forgiving mood." With a wave of his wand, his appearance returned to his undisguised self. "He stepped back to the living room and leered at Petunia and Vernon. "So are you going to explain about the bloody cupboard or am I gonna have to turn your insides outside?"
Petunia took one look at Moody's face and the terrifying whirling eye and she screamed and then fainted, flopping like a fish to the ground. A wet stain spread on Vernon's pant leg.
Harry gulped. "I think I'll uh… wait in the kitchen." He quickly removed himself from Sirius's grip and bolted towards the kitchen wishing that he could cast the spell that muffled sound.
Harry didn't like his relatives. But he didn't want to see them hurt. He moved to the sink and the contents of his stomach were emptied out. He didn't hear Sirius follow him in.
Moody and Amelia would 'Handle' the muggles. Sirius's responsibility was to Harry. He stood in the doorway for a moment, feeling lost and helpless. 'Bloody hell James! Is this how you felt? This overwhelming fear that you were gonna fuck everything up? How do I help him? What should I say?'
His mind cast back to a distant memory of Charlus Potter, James's father. After he had run away, arriving bloody and brokenhearted on the Potter's doorstep, Charlus had forced a calming potion down his throat and held him as he sobbed on his shoulder. He was grateful at that moment for the memory. All he could do was be there for Harry like Charlus had been there for him.
Sirius cast the silencing charm and stayed with Harry, waiting together as Harry's relatives were dealt with.
Sirius decided that they both could use a cup of tea and began raiding Aunt Petunia's spotless kitchen. "Hungry Harry?" He asked. Poking through the refrigerator and pulling out what could only be described as all of the contents of the refrigerator. Harry watched as Sirius started assembling the largest sandwich he had ever seen anyone make.
He used every kind of cheese, all the meats, and a whole French bread loaf. He slathered on lots of mustard making sure to liberally sauce the counter., He sloppily slathered on mayonnaise, chopped up an inhuman amount of onions and garlic, and started sauteing it all into a pan, using a lot of butter.
Harry shook his head, "No." Still feeling a bit peaky from his earlier upset.
Sirius was making quite a mess and Harry just watched in bemusement. Aunt Petunia was going to have a fit when she saw the state of her kitchen. Harry watched his godfather tear up his Aunt's kitchen with his mindless food preparations and smiled because he looked like he was having a great time.
Sirius spied the microwave and asked, "What does this do?"
Harry smirked, "Well you can heat up water really fast two ways. You can push the buttons that equal minutes and seconds. Choose high heat and then press start. Or you can just press the button with the cup on it. Or I guess you can press the add minute button and then if its not hot enough you can press it again?"
"That's three ways." He glared at the machine and all the buttons. The button with the cup?" He sees a button that he recognizes as a pizza slice thanks to Lily and her 'Field trips.' into the muggle world. Next to that was the button Harry must have meant, a teacup with three wavy lines to indicate heat.
Sirius presses the button and steps back with wide eyes as the microwave lights up and the cup starts to spin. The loud vibrating hum coming from the microwave has him stepping back further and pointing his wand. He looks at the timer that indicates how much time and realizes the microwave takes a minute and thirty seconds and looks over at Harry triumphantly, "Still not as fast as a wizard spell." He frowns, "But faster than fire." He grins, "They must be in a hurry these muggles."
Harry nodded glancing towards the closed door and wondering what is happening. "Are you sure they won't hurt them?"
Sirius lifted a brow, "Don't you think they deserve it after the way they treated you?"
Harry frowned, "No. I mean maybe? But I don't want them hurt." He shrugged, "They aren't always nice to me. But I think... I think they are scared. Of me." He swallows, "Of magic."
"Of course, they are scared Harry. They have every right to be scared. It sounds like they were completely unprepared for a magical child to just be dumped on your doorstep, and make no mistake Harry you have always been VERY powerful. You turned your dad's hair pink before you could talk. I imagine a muggle, who had lost both her parents as well as her sister to Death Eater attacks, has no magic herself to speak of, and given no choice in the matter, and told that her sister was targetted by a dark wizard would react badly."
He frowned, "But if they wouldn't treat their own son the way they treated you, then you shouldn't ever think that it was okay for them to treat you differently. They let their fear overcome their common decency. And make no mistake, there will be a reckoning Harry."
Harry shuddered, "I wouldn't want to be treated like Dudley. They spoil him and give him everything he ever wanted. I wouldn't want to be like that." Harry admitted.
Harry sipped at his Aunt's tea while Sirius demolished the giant sandwich he had made. Even convincing Harry to take a very messy bite. Sirius just waved his wand cleaning them both up but still leaving the kitchen in shambles.
Sirius then told Harry about the first time he had met his father on the Hogwarts Express. Harry had heard the story before from the portrait but enjoyed the story just as much from Sirius's perspective. "We were instant best friends." He smiled. "Your dad was a great wizard Harry. And he would have done far worse to your Aunt and Uncle than take their memories of you away from them. He would have hexed your uncle Vernon bald and ball-less, and your Aunt Petunia would have spent the rest of her life as a man or maybe a horse. His nickname for her was Horseface if I recall." This made Harry laugh because he'd overheard Prongs call his Aunt that before. After having met the portrait of his father he was sure that Sirius was right.
Sirius sighed, loving the sound of Harry's laugh. Hearing an echo of James's own laughter in his memories. It warmed him from the inside out.
Amelia and Moody came into the kitchen and informed them the deed was done. "All finished," Amelia said and handed Sirius an official-looking document.
Sirius looked it over with an eye for detail that surprised the witch. Most people, she had come to learn, never read the fine print. He took the quill she offered and he signed the document.
Amelia then looked at Harry, "This document is what your Aunt signed giving over her guardianship of you to Sirius. It isn't necessary for you to sign this Harry, but if you do witness it and state that you wish to sever your relationship with the Dursleys of your own free will, it could prove helpful in case anyone were to claim anything was done against your wishes."
Harry agreed and readily took the paper, signed it, and wrote, I don't want to live with the Dursleys ever again. They do not understand my magic and are afraid of it. I want to live with my godfather Sirius Black. He signed it, Lord Harry Potter. Remembering Remus' lessons on his status in the wizarding world.
Amelia took it back and read over Harry's statement with an arched brow. That he knew he was a lord was an interesting piece of trivia that she immediately dismissed. She had enough to investigate. 'Just let it go', Amy, reprimanded herself.
She duplicated the document and handed one copy to Sirius, and kept the original to file at the Ministry and with the various solicitors as well as a copy for Gringotts.
Later, Harry would learn that his Aunt, Uncle, and Dudley would remember only that Lilly, James, and their infant son died in a home invasion robbery on October 31, 1981. Few would remember meeting the shy dark-haired boy that had once lived at Number 4 Privet Drive.
Amelia glanced over at Harry and Sirius as they were leaving and said, "So shall we meet at Gringotts in an hour?" Which was the time of the reading. Sirius nodded and shook the witch's hand. "Thank you, Amelia. I can't imagine how that would have gone without you, and of course you too Mad-Eye." He nodded to the grizzled Auror.
Moody nodded, "It was fun. Not often I get to engage in a bit of muggle baiting." Sirius stared at him and remembered why the old Slytherin scared him. But he shook his hand anyway remembering the mentorship of the most notorious dark wizard catcher in his lifetime. "When you're ready to get back to work let me know. Might take a bit getting you back in shape, but there's nothing wrong with your instincts." He gave Harry a pointed look. Sirius just stared at him with wide shocked eyes.
Amelia grunted. "He's not wrong Sirius."
Sirius looked down at his godson and said, "I think I have other priorities. But thank you for the vote of confidence."
Harry tried to muster a smile and said, "Thank you for your help Madam Bones, Mr. Moody,"
Amelia and Moody apparated away soon after and Sirius looked at the exhausted-looking Harry.
"Almost done, Harry. We just have to go listen to your parent's will and then we can go home with your Uncle Moony."
"Until I'm old and wrinkly?" Harry asked with a bit of a chuckle.
Sirius nodded as he summoned the bus. "As long as you'll have me, Harry."
AN:
So I know this chapter can be triggering. Child abuse is always a difficult topic to address. I felt that Sirius showed a lot of maturity in choosing to stay with Harry rather than stay to punish the Dursleys. What do you think? Did I let the Dursleys off too lightly?
I chose not to show Dudley because as satisfying as it might be to see that little bugger get his comeuppance I just didn't feel right about it. Dudley likely got a fright behind the scenes but he is only 11 right now. A scared straight moment was just never gonna happen really. And terrifying the Dursleys would make them no better than Voldypants.
All reviews are helpful.
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Call or Text: Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453). You can also live chat with a trained counselor at .org. Help is always available!
Be safe and love each other.
chapter edited 6/7