Hey, I am so sorry for the months-long wait, but let's be real: depression is a bitch, and it steals all motivation. I've barely been reading fics as well. I've literally only been reading my subscriptions and living on Twitter; if you want to find me, it's dramione1997, and yes, I am aware of the irony that my handle is Dramione, yet my first fic is Harmony. Anyway, onto the long-awaited chapter, and today we get to meet Sirius. Well, at least his character is introduced. Remember, I am changing a lot, but most canonical events will still happen. The next chapter after this, we get to check in on Hermione and Neville and see how their first week went because, remember, they have also had to meet their head of house and have their medical checks done, and we've got Neville's wand to be sorted out.

I have, however, gone through and double-checked my grammar on all the chapters and updated some vital information, so if you haven't read the chapters recently, please go back, as I don't want you to get confused.

It's his first full weekend at Hogwarts, and Harry couldn't wait to fully explore by himself rather than following his prefects around. While he's very grateful for them taking their time out to show them around today, there's nothing that can beat an 11-year-old kid finding all the quick routes and all the hiding spots in the castle he calls home for 10 months of the year. However, before he can do any exploring, he has to go to breakfast, and the good thing is he doesn't have to wait for the rest of the first years to show up before he can make his way, as they'd agreed the tour today wouldn't start until 10 a.m. Harry makes sure he has a couple inches of parchment with him and a pencil that he had at the bottom of his backpack that he forgot to take out to note down any landmarks for him to either remember his way to the classes or for him to explore tomorrow.

Walking down to the great hall without Hermione or Neville, who were just rising when Harry left the dormitory, makes Harry feel a little out of place. For the past five days, he's had people who've very quickly become his best friends by his side whenever he's out of his dormitory, and he's hearing the whispers that seem to follow him wherever he goes a lot more without them than he has all week. He understands that a lot of them have grown up hearing that he is the reason Voldemort is gone, but surely, they remember that he's just an 11-year-old boy who only learned magic was a thing a month ago. Surely, they all remember that he's not had the fortune of growing up with his mum or dad the way a lot of them have. He knows that his parents were in Gryffindor, but he can't help and wonders: did they have such close friendships as quicky into their first year the way he has? Did his mum struggle with learning she was a witch the way he did, or did she take to it the way Hermione has? Did his parents miss his grandparents the way he sees Hermione missing her parents, or did they feel like they could spread their wings the way he sees others doing? Did they get letters once a week, or was it every other day, the way he sees some Slytherin first-year students getting them? He has all these questions and so many more, and it just makes him miss them more than he ever has. The books with their names and pictures help, but they don't tell him what they were like. All Hagrid said was that they were head boy and girl, but nothing about them as people. Was his mum smart enough to be a Ravenclaw, or was she loyal enough to make the hat question whether she should be in Hufflepuff? Was his dad cunning enough to be a Slytherin, or was he completely full of bravery to make the hat shout Gryffindor the way it shouted Slytherin before even touching Draco Malfoy's head? He's hoping his beautiful snowy owl will turn up soon with a response from Sirius Black because maybe he can ask him some of those questions and learn about his hero parents, and yes, maybe he could find out why his dad's friend was in prison - was it before his parents were murdered or was it after?

As he sits down, he hears the wings of an owl but doesn't look up as he sorts his breakfast and potion out, thinking it wouldn't be for him, especially as Hedwig hadn't made a noise the day before when she brought Hagrid's letter. However, he cannot ignore the hooting of an owl right in front of him, so he looks up to find Hedwig is back, and she's holding a letter for him. If anything, she looks annoyed that he's kept her waiting, and he wonders if he could teach her to have patience. Taking the letter from her, he puts it down, not wanting to get in trouble with Madame Pomphrey and Healer Justin for putting the letter over his health. He thinks he manages patience in that by the time Hermione and Neville come down from breakfast, he still hasn't opened the letter; in fact, he's popped it in his bag, ready to be read in private after the tour. Having had the potion since Tuesday, he's started to get a bit hungry between meals, which he was warned about, so while his friends finish their breakfast, he prepares a jam sandwich and grabs a piece of fruit to keep him going. He still feels he should be saving every bit of food he gets in case he doesn't get another chance to eat, so he's finding it really strange to be preparing a sandwich for a snack. He wraps his food up, puts it in his bag, and gets another glass of milk, which Justin informed him would help strengthen his bones. He wants to be as healthy as he can be before Christmas and the magical coma, especially as he wants to experience Christmas at Hogwarts.

Going around the school with the prefects proves useful for Harry as he manages to document many entrances that weren't pointed out to him, and the 7th year male prefect actually shows them the way to avoid the ever-changing stairs; he warns them of the joke steps and always points out the landmarks just like Harry wanted them to. The female prefect tells them about the different patterns the stairs follow; she warns them about Peeves the Poltergeist, who likes to play tricks, and how the ghosts are supposed to help students, but only really. Nearly Headless Nick helps the Gryffindors and informs them of all the duties of a prefect. Harry feels like today was another learning day, and he's grateful to his prefects for taking the time out of their schedule to show them around. Some of the girls feel they could be doing something better with their time, but he hopes they'll come to thank the prefects, as one day they'll learn to do makeup. Aunt Petunia always said makeup takes time, and with the tips gained today, the girls won't have to get up so early to apply their makeup.

When they get back to their common room, Harry takes the time that Neville is with Professor McGonagall to finish the last bit of his potions essay that he didn't manage to finish before he headed to bed last night. He is again making sure he has completed all his tasks for the day before opening the letter, as he isn't sure whether he will be able to focus after he's read it, especially after finding out Sirius is in prison the evening after he sent the letter. He wonders if the reason it took four days was because they had to check the letter before showing it to Sirius, and then they had to check his reply. Has Sirius even seen his letter, or is he not allowed them? He checks his clock after putting his work away, seeing that it's only 4 p.m., and grabs two pieces of parchment, one where he will draft his reply and one which he will actually send, but first he opens the letter that has felt like it's burned a hole in his pocket since it arrived. Harry feels he needs as much privacy as he can get while reading the letter, so he pulls the drapes around his bed and sits down, making himself comfy before he opens the seal with shaky hands. He sees that the handwriting looks more feminine, like Hermione's, not more masculine, like Neville's; maybe Sirius is not allowed to write letters. Reading it and seeing that it isn't actually from Sirius Harry makes his stomach drop; instead, it's from Madam Amelia Bones, who writes that she's the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She says that while Sirius hasn't yet read the letter, she will be showing it to him when she goes to visit in a week, and she hopes to have another reply for him then. She does write that she was shocked to see Harry writing to Sirius when the reason he is in Azkaban is because he betrayed Harry and his parents. Harry feels he needs to see an adult about this, as it feels like too much information, which only brings up more questions. He decided that when Neville comes back, he will go to Professor McGonagall to see what she suggests he do. If Sirius had really done something to hurt his parents, why was Harry not told this? Why was he only told about Voldemort? Surely, he should be told that if the person who betrayed his parents was in prison, what if he got out and came to hurt Harry? What if Sirius wasn't working alone but only got caught, and the other guy came and got Harry?

Harry could feel himself spiralling and was thankful when the dorm door opened to reveal Neville, meaning the professor was available. Without even saying anything to Neville, Harry collects the letter off the desk where he dropped it and dashes down the stairs, eager to get to the office and hopefully some answers. Knocking on the door and opening it when told to enter, he tries to calm his breathing, not wanting to have another panic attack in front of the professor. However, she can tell he is distressed and asks whether he needs a calming draught, to which he declines. He doesn't want any medicine to stop him from being able to spend Christmas here. He explains that before he met healer Justin, he had found out that his dad's friend Sirius Black was still alive and that he had sent a letter the morning he met Justin with some questions about his family. When she asked how he found this information, he explained about Neville loaning Harry the book about genealogy on the train and him finding the connection between his dad and Sirius, that the book has an image of his mum and dad's wedding, and that he would be sending a letter to each of the ones he could find the names for as he wanted to know more about them. Harry explained that he wasn't even bothered that they hadn't been there when he was growing up; he just wanted to know what his mum and dad were like and if they had any pictures he could copy.

He hands the letter he received to the professor and explains how he didn't even manage to read it all before he got himself into a panic after reading that he was responsible for the deaths of his parents, that maybe someone was collaborating with him, and that he might not be safe. Professor McGonagall explains that she thinks it is best if Madam Bones comes and speaks to him herself, as she is a magical police officer and would know more about the circumstances of Sirius being imprisoned than herself, as she was just a teacher. She got up and went to the fireplace and firstly called out Madam Bones office; however, after getting no response, she tried her at Bones Manor, and Harry heard her say she would come through and talk to him. No more than a minute later, a tall brown-haired woman who is wearing what Harry could only describe as a non-fluffy dressing gown with a suit underneath and a monocle on her right eye steps through. She introduces herself as Madame Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, but also the Regent of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Bones until her niece can become Lady of the House. She says Harry can call her Amelia, to which Harry introduces himself as Heir Hadrian James Potter of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter, but that she could call him Hadrian. He wanted adults to call him Hadrian and only those close to him to call him Harry, his mum, and his dad chose his name, and he wanted people to use it.

She sat in the chair next to his and started explaining that she receives all mail addressed to a prisoner before it is given to them and that usually she wouldn't reply, but she understands that he has questions and that he might not have known Sirius was in prison, and as she only goes to Azkaban once a month, she didn't want him to be sitting there wondering anything and thought it best she at least explain that he won't get a proper reply until next week. She explains that she is actually looking at the case of Sirius being in prison, as the file is extremely thin and even as head of law enforcement, she cannot find the trial transcripts, which was another reason she wanted to speak to him. She explains what she knows, which is that during school, Sirius and James were inseparable alongside Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew; they graduated during the war, and instantly James and Sirius had joined the aurors, Remus had gone off the radar, and Peter had gone home to take care of his sick grandmother. She says that James and Sirius both flew through the training and within a year were both junior aurors, but that they only lasted at that for 6 months before being made senior aurors with how much work they did. She explained that initially they had been partnered with other people, but they soon found that working together was what gave the force the best results.

She says she's unsure of when it happened, but sometime between the middle of 1981 and Halloween of 1981, Lily and James had gone into hiding after having threats of Voldemort coming after them, and with Harry, they wanted to keep themselves and him safe. On November 1, 1981, she woke to news of Voldemort's defeat and his parents' deaths and that Sirius was now a wanted man, as he had been the only person with the knowledge of where he and his family were hiding. She said it was believed that sometime in 1981 Sirius had become a death eater, which she explained were Voldemort's followers, and that he had told Voldemort the secret that led to the death of his parents. Harry is horrified that someone who was at his parents' wedding, to whom he wrote a letter, was responsible for his parents' deaths. It's strange because he wants answers more than anything now. What causes someone to turn against someone they have known since they were 11 years old, if not longer? Could it be that the death of his brother caused him to change sides? Amelia states that she will be going to Azkaban to speak to Sirius herself on Wednesday and that in the evening she will come and speak to Harry afterwards so he can have the answers that she gets. She also says she will be asking him to come to the ministry to see what she can do about getting him the house back that his parents lived in, as the ministry took control of it the day after Halloween, and she doesn't feel right that they just took a boy's house without any thought of him.

Harry wants to ask her to go sooner to get the answers, but he also recognises that she's the head of the whole of law enforcement, and maybe there are things more recent than nearly 10 years ago, but to him, this is all new information, this is all new hurt. Yes, he's known his parents were dead for as long as he can remember, but to him, they had died in a car crash, so finding out one of their best friends was responsible for their murderer finding them and killing them has made that hurt so recent. He wants to look Sirius Black in the eyes and ask him how he could ever sell out his parents and what he promised him. He wants to look him in the eyes and tell him what he signed a one-year-old boy up for when he went to Voldemort and gave him the secrets of where his parents were, all the hurt and abuse he had gone through, not knowing he was a wizard, never knowing the love of a parent, and never having a friend because his cousin stopped anyone wanting to speak to Harry. He asks if it would be possible for Sirius to be brought to the ministry instead of her going to Azkaban so that he can hear it himself. He says he knows it might take time, but he'd rather hear it straight from his mouth than through Amelia. Professor McGonagall looks shocked that he's requested this, but she can see the determination on his face that she's come to know when he tries to cast new magic. He is determined to look his parents' 'friend' in the eyes and get answers even at 11 years old. She knows he's more mature than the other first-year students, but she wants to say no; he's not allowed to being a first-year student, but she knows she doesn't really have a reason. He has the right to look Sirius in the eyes, just like he has the right to request information from Remus or Mary about why they weren't there for him growing up. Amelia explains that it will take until the weekend if they do it that way rather than her going to the prison, but that it will also give her a bit of time to see why she can't access his trial records or even the results of his wand check that should have happened when he was apprehended. She looks to the professor, who says she will agree to Harry being present as long as she can arrange for another person to be there, as he is also entitled to answers, and he has been asking questions since the day after Sirius was arrested. Amelia agrees and says she already thought to reach out to Remus, but if he is going to be present, she doesn't need to. They agree that next Saturday, after breakfast, Harry will be escorted by Remus Lupin to the ministry, and Sirius will be questioned by Amelia. Amelia asks Harry to keep this information to himself while Amelia continues to investigate, as many people were affected by Sirius' betrayal, although she recognises none as much as Harry.