That evening, Sirius left Gryffindor Tower, heading to his grandparents' quarters. He needed to tell them about his conversation with Jeremiah.
When Sirius arrived, Melania gave him a hug before asking, "How was your day, Sirius?"
"It was… interesting," Sirius replied.
"How so?" Arcturus asked curiously.
"Well, Professor Slughorn had us pair up with people from other houses for our potion today," Sirius explained.
"Good," Arcturus said with approval.
"And I worked with Jeremiah Roberts," Sirius continued.
"He's a good student," Melania said. "Seems to like History of Magic."
"He's very independent," Sirius added.
"Yes, the Roberts family is known for their independence," Arcturus agreed.
Sirius then explained what Jeremiah had told him, about his group of friends that worked to unite the houses, and how Dumbledore had banned their events and discouraged their efforts to unite the houses.
"I am not surprised that Dumbledore did what he did," Arcturus said thoughtfully. "The fact that this group has been around for almost a decade, yet, no progress has been made, is unacceptable. Do you know who the leader of this group is?"
"I'm assuming it's someone who has already left Hogwarts," Sirius responded. "But it sounds like Jeremiah is in charge of the group of students in the group who are currently students here."
"That makes sense," Melania agreed.
"The Marauders plan to collaborate with the group," Sirius revealed. "The more students who unite in this effort, the better. After all, I promised Reg, the older one, that is, that I would help to unite the houses."
"Yes, it would be nice to see more students sitting at meals together, or working on assignments together, inside and outside of classes," Arcturus said. "That is why the Latin class requires everyone to work with others from different houses, but so far, it seems that most of the groups are not liking this arrangement. I believe that collaborating with the group that is trying to unite the houses would be a good idea. I will also talk to Mr. Roberts about bringing back the events that were banned. Thank you, Sirius, for letting us know about this. I believe strongly that students should not be separated by traits, personalities, and houses. We need a united front at this school."
"Thank you, Grandfather," Sirius said gratefully. "At least someone cares about equality."
Arcturus and Melania smiled. Melania then looked at her watch. "I have to go to my office for office hours," she declared. "Have a good evening, Sirius." She left the room, leaving Arcturus and Sirius alone.
"Grandfather, I have a question," Sirius said, breaking the silence.
"Ask away," Arcturus encouraged.
"Well, remember you said you'd help me retrain my body and magic to turn me into a dog?" Sirius asked. He still remembered how Arcturus had not been happy that Sirius had turned into Padfoot during the Board of Governors meeting.
"Ah, yes, I was going to start working with you on that, but a lot has happened over the past year," Arcturus explained.
"Well, I haven't turned into Padfoot, because you told me not to, but I really want to turn into Padfoot again," Sirius said. "Could we work on it, please? Then, I can teach the other Marauders!"
Arcturus' expression suddenly became stern. "Sirius, I know that in your original timeline, you and your friends learned how to turn into animals without adult supervision or instruction, but that was dangerous. Do you realize what could have happened? You could have been stuck in your dog form. Or, Mr. Potter could have been stuck in his stag form."
"Well, we didn't have that happen, so…" Sirius started.
"Sirius Orion, it does not matter what didn't happen. What matters is what COULD have happened," Arcturus said sternly. "This time, I do not want you teaching your friends how to do it. They need to learn from Professor McGonagall, or another adult who knows how to do it."
"But Grandfather, I…" Sirius protested.
"Sirius, this is not up for discussion," Arcturus scolded lightly. "I will only help you retrain if you promise to encourage your friends to have an adult teach them."
Sirius knew that if he argued any further, Arcturus would not help him. Arcturus usually wasn't this stern with him unless it was very serious. Arcturus usually treated him more like the adult he used to be, so when Arcturus spoke to Sirius like this, Sirius knew better than to argue further.
"Would the rest of the Marauders be able to learn this year?" Sirius asked.
"I don't see why not," Arcturus said.
"Well, wouldn't it be weird if they figure out that I already know how to do it, while everyone else are beginners?" Sirius asked. "I mean, I know that Blacks are known for being able to turn into their animagus forms, but I don't really want questions about how I can already do it like an expert, so if I'm retrained at the same time as everyone else is learning…" Sirius paused here, not sure what to say next.
Arcturus looked thoughtful. "Regulus and Capella will be able to learn pretty quickly as well," he said, more to himself than to Sirius. After a slight pause, Arcturus continued. "I could work with you, Regulus, Capella, and Severus, seeing as you four will be the quickest. The rest of your friends will have to work with Professor McGonagall, seeing as they will take much longer. However, we will not start until your friends find out about Mr. Lupin's transformations. It would be odd to bring up things about animagus training before they even find out. After all, that is the reason the three of you learned how to do it in your original timeline. What you don't want is to raise questions."
"You would do that?" Sirius asked excitedly.
"I taught Lucretia, so I don't see why not," Arcturus pointed out.
Sirius grinned. "Alright," he agreed. "I'll bring this up to the others, but not until they find out about Remus. Also, could James join us too? He's technically related to the Blacks, and he did learn quickly last time, so…"
"Very well," Arcturus agreed. "But until they figure out that Mr. Lupin is a werewolf, you will focus on Occlumency."
"Understood," Sirius stated. He left the headmaster's quarters that night feeling excited for what was to come.