Chapter 149: The Only Family
Chapter 149: The Only Family
Sherlock's words brought a heavy silence to the room.
Black clenched his teeth and spoke.
"Harry is living well with his aunt. He doesn't need to know about my existence. James and Lily's death is my fault; I don't deserve to be his godfather!"
"If he were really living well, he wouldn't have tried to sneak into Hogsmeade through a secret passage and end up getting caught by Snape", Sherlock said calmly.
Black stared at him.
"What do you mean?"
"His aunt and uncle didn't sign the permission slip for him to leave the school because, in their eyes, Harry is an oddity, someone who can use magic and doesn't fit in with them. He's also the oddity of the Potter family, whom they despise the most."
At this point, even Lupin looked at Sherlock.
"Harry isn't living well there?"
"He has food and a place to stay", Sherlock said coolly. "While they don't give him any family warmth, at least he's not starving on the streets."
Sirius Black and Lupin both picked up on the underlying meaning in his words: Harry's life with his aunt and uncle was just barely above the level of homelessness.
"Bang!"
Black slammed his fist on the desk, his anger evident.
"That's her own sister's son!"
Sherlock met his eyes.
"I'm not denying that Harry's aunt and uncle have treated him terribly, but you should also ask yourself: what was Harry's father's attitude toward them back then? Why do they treat Harry this way?"
Sherlock had specifically investigated why Harry's aunt and uncle harbored such a nearly hostile attitude toward him during the previous summer.
The Dursleys didn't hate the wizard community; rather, their interactions with Harry's father left them with a very negative impression.
After that, the two families severed all ties, never speaking again (with Petunia's jealousy over Lily becoming a witch also playing a role).
When Harry came to live with them, they transferred their negative feelings onto the young boy.
The Dursleys' behavior was indeed terrible, but James Potter also had his issues back then.
Sirius Black and Lupin fell silent again. They were James's childhood friends and knew his character well—James was only slightly less extreme than Sirius himself.
"So, even if not for yourself, think about Harry", Sherlock said from his chair, looking at them. "He might not need your care, but he needs the affection of a family member."
Sirius Black stood there, stunned. He had the courage to defy death, but Sherlock's words made him hesitate.
If what Sherlock said was true, then besides his aunt and uncle, Sirius was Harry's only legal family. After all, they had established the godfather-godson relationship when Harry was just a baby.
Sherlock sat in his chair, sipping his tea as he waited for Sirius to make a decision.
After a long moment, Sirius slowly looked up.
"Can I see him up close?"
Sherlock shrugged.
"Every weekend evening, he comes here to learn the Patronus Charm. If you want to see him, you can come here, but whether to reveal yourself to him is your decision."
"I can't reveal myself to him until I catch Peter", Sirius shook his head. "Only when everything is settled can I let him know about my existence. If he finds out about this, there will be trouble."
"You seem to understand his character well."
"After escaping from Azkaban, I secretly observed him for a while."
Sherlock stood up from his chair.
"Since that's the case, why don't you transform into your Animagus form and follow me? I'll report to Professor Mcgonagall, so at least the others in the school will know about your presence."
The matter was decided for the moment.
Sirius Black transformed back into a dog, and Sherlock used magic to change his breed before leading him to Professor Mcgonagall's office.
"Are you planning to keep this dog at Hogwarts?" Professor Mcgonagall frowned at the Animagus form of Sirius Black, clearly not a fan of dogs.
Sherlock explained.
"This dog is very intelligent. I think having it patrol the castle might help in catching Black."
Sirius Black, understanding the situation, wagged his tail and nudged Professor Mcgonagall with his head.
"Alright, it might help in catching Black, but you must ensure it doesn't harm any students", Professor Mcgonagall nodded.
Sherlock assured her, "Don't worry, it will get along well with the students."
With Professor Mcgonagall's approval, Sirius Black now had the right to move freely around the castle.
Sherlock then led Sirius Black out of Professor Mcgonagall's office. As they descended the stairs, they encountered Snape in the entrance hall of the first floor. Snape, with his greasy hair, pale complexion, and black bat-like robes, looked less than pleased to see them.
"Forrest, when do you plan to pay me the outstanding balance for the potion ingredients?" Snape glared at Sherlock as soon as he saw him, his face twisted in a menacing demand for payment.
Sherlock finally remembered that he still owed Snape money from the last time he bought ingredients from him.
"I'll bring it to you at noon."
Snape let out a cold snort and then noticed Sirius Black standing beside Sherlock.
They locked eyes for a moment, and Snape felt an intense dislike for the dog, as if he were facing an old enemy.
Sirius Black bared his teeth at him in response.
"What's with this dog?" Snape frowned, asking Sherlock.
"It's to catch Black", Sherlock raised an eyebrow. "I've already informed Professor Mcgonagall."
Snape made no effort to hide his disdain.
"I hope it doesn't get killed by Black with a single spell."
With that, he turned and continued walking towards the Great Hall. Apart from the dislike, he didn't detect anything unusual about Sirius Black.
Sirius Black rolled his eyes at Snape's back, and Sherlock patted his head, signaling for him to follow.
They returned to Sherlock's office. It was a Saturday, and Harry was scheduled to come to the office later in the evening to continue practicing the Patronus Charm.
So Sherlock instructed Sirius Black to stay in the office and not leave, while he went to the kitchen to inform the house-elves to start delivering two portions of meals directly to his office using magic.
Meanwhile, as Sherlock and Lupin found Sirius Black and learned the truth from him, Ron and Hermione finally made up.
The day Lupin confiscated Harry's Marauder's Map, Hagrid lost his case in the Ministry of Magic regarding Buckbeak. The jury almost entirely sided with Lucius Malfoy, sentencing Buckbeak to death and setting the execution date.
Hermione was devastated. When she met Ron and Harry, she burst into tears and apologized to Ron. At that moment, Ron's awkwardness disappeared, and he said it wasn't her fault. They reconciled and were back to normal.
During their reconciliation, they happened to encounter Draco, who was being particularly sarcastic. Hermione, already furious over her father's bribery of the jury to condemn Buckbeak, slapped Draco hard, leaving him stunned.
After that, Hermione seemed to have completely let go of her frustration. With too many classes, she dropped Divination, a subject she never liked and found pointless, and focused on her other subjects.
Harry, besides continuing to learn the Patronus Charm, also had to prepare for the final Quidditch match of the semester against Slytherin.
As agreed, he arrived at Sherlock's office that weekend. After this class, he planned to take a week off to focus on the Quidditch match and return to classes afterward.
As soon as Harry entered Sherlock's office, he saw a large dog lying beside the desk.
He widened his eyes and walked over, watching the dog get up from the floor.
"Professor, is this a new pet you've adopted?"
Black wagged his tail, his eyes bright and focused on Harry, and he moved closer to him.
Harry tentatively stroked his head, and when Sirius Black showed no resistance and seemed to enjoy it, Harry became bolder.
Sherlock, seeing how quickly Sirius Black's tail was wagging, knew he was enjoying the attention. After all, Harry was his only family now, and in a sense, Sirius Black also considered Harry his only family.
"Sort of. I adopted this dog to prevent Black from entering the school again. For now, I'll be taking care of him."
After petting Sirius Black for a while, Harry said, "Professor, I need to take a week off next week. The Quidditch final is coming up, and I need to focus on training to help Gryffindor win the championship."
Sherlock waved his hand dismissively.
"You don't need to take a leave. There's not much more you can learn about the Patronus Charm. You just need a catalyst to fully form your Patronus. Theoretically, you're already doing well."
"Then, are we still having this lesson?" Harry asked.
Sherlock pointed at Sirius Black.
"Today's lesson is to take this dog for a walk around the castle. Consider it your final task."
Harry happily agreed and led Sirius Black out of Sherlock's office, walking through the corridors and various parts of the castle. He even brought him into the Gryffindor common room.
This surprised the other Gryffindors.
Ron, who was helping Hermione search for information on the Hippogriff case, looked at Sirius Black and asked, "Where did you get this dog?"
(End of Chapter)
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