Chapter 810: Godfather
Chapter 810: Godfather
"Bang!" The door was abruptly flung open, and hurried footsteps echoed from the corridor outside. A figure rushed into the room like a gust of wind and panted, "Have you seen today's Prophet? Peter's dead...that guy is actually dead."
"Don't panic; that's unlike you." Sirius looked up at his old friend and poured him a butterbeer, gesturing for him to take a drink and calm down before continuing. "I just read about it in the paper. They say Peter succumbed to an illness while imprisoned in Azkaban."
"This is suspicious," Lupin said, taking a deep breath. "He couldn't have died that quickly in Azkaban. You know what I mean."
"You suspect Peter escaped using some means." Sirius frowned, considering the possibility. Having been imprisoned there for twelve years, he was very familiar with the conditions and had more insight than most.
His old friend's words were biased, as far as Sirius knew. Many witches and wizards went mad and died within weeks of being imprisoned in Azkaban, but Peter...Lupin's suspicions were valid. Peter had a history of faking his own death, and he'd done it twice.
So why not a third time?
"That's not all," Lupin continued after downing his butterbeer in one go and taking a moment to catch his breath. "I heard that Mrs. Pettigrew visited Peter in prison shortly before his death. Days later, she went insane, set fire to her house, and burned herself and the entire place down."
"The paper didn't report that, nor did it mention how she was allowed into Azkaban," Black said, his brow furrowed deeply. The more he thought about it, the more he felt Lupin's suspicions were correct—there was something amiss about this situation.
It was possible that their old accomplice had indeed escaped.
The two men carefully scanned the previous day's issue of the Prophet and finally found a small, inconspicuous article about Mrs. Pettigrew's self-immolation in a corner of the paper.
The article wasn't lengthy, and the gist of it was:
Mrs. Pettigrew, unable to accept her son's transformation from hero to murderer, had suffered a mental breakdown and gone insane.
No matter how one looked at it, both incidents were highly suspicious.
Especially since Peter had died on the third day after his mother's visit, and she had died the day after her visit.
"There's a way to determine whether Peter is truly dead or not," Sirius suddenly said.
"What way?" Lupin asked.
"We can ask a seer," Sirius replied, a quirky smile playing on his lips.
"You mean Anderson?" Lupin immediately grasped his old friend's meaning.
"Yes, I've heard that Mr. Anderson has a powerful prophetic ability and can effortlessly foresee future events." Sirius referred to Phineas as 'Mr. Anderson.' "I plan to invite him to the Quidditch World Cup, and we can request his assistance then. It's better than racking our brains with wild guesses here."
Lupin furrowed his brow. "Do you think he'll be willing to help?"
"Yes," Sirius said meaningfully. "Mr. Anderson charges a fee for his services, but I think it's worth spending some money to get to the bottom of this."
Sirius didn't particularly care about the Black family fortune. As far as he was concerned, spending a few Galleons to ascertain Peter's fate was well worth it.
If Peter had indeed escaped, Sirius would stop at nothing to make sure he didn't get away again.
Yes, Peter was dead! A cruel smile played on Black's lips. This time, he hoped Peter was truly gone for good.
Although Albert had made the best choice at the time, restoring his reputation, Black couldn't help but feel a sense of regret that he hadn't been able to kill Peter with his own hands to avenge James and Lily.
Now, perhaps, that opportunity had presented itself again.
"Enough of that," Sirius said, changing the subject. "Lupin, if you have some free time, could you help me clean up the house? I'm planning to bring Harry here to live with me, but I can't possibly get everything ready by myself, even by the end of summer."
"Sure, I don't have much going on lately anyway," Lupin agreed, nodding. He highly doubted that even a year would be enough time for Sirius to get the place in order.
"Great! Then you can come with us to the Quidditch World Cup!" Sirius suggested.
"I'm afraid not," Lupin declined, shaking his head.
"Why not?" Sirius asked, puzzled.
"Well, the World Cup final usually takes place around August 20th, if I recall correctly," Lupin explained. "You know that's close to the full moon. I can't take the risk."
Sirius fell silent, having almost forgotten about that.
"Come on, where do you want to start cleaning?" Lupin asked, clapping Black on the shoulder. "If you want to get this place thoroughly cleaned, don't just stand there gawking."
The two friends worked the entire afternoon but still couldn't get Harry's room ready. They discovered a nest of knarls in the bedroom, and in their efforts to eradicate the pesky creatures, Sirius used copious amounts of Knarl Repellent, creating a huge mess in the process.
"I feel like I'm turning into a house-elf," Sirius said, exhausted. "Maybe I should ask Dumbledore to lend me a few house-elves to help with the cleaning. That would get the job done faster."
Sirius sat wearily in a chair, munching on some simple food Lupin had prepared. It was clear that cleaning was not his forte.
"In the end, he didn't do that."
In truth, Sirius wished his old friend would move to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, and live with him so they could look after each other. But Remus refused his goodwill.
"James' son is incredibly like him," Sirius murmured, as if lost in reminiscence. "He really is."
"Harry's quieter, though. Not as much of a show-off in front of girls as James, and he doesn't talk incessantly either," Lupin said, feeling a bit nostalgic about his old friend.
"But Harry also loves causing trouble," Sirius said, laughing heartily.
"Yes," Lupin agreed, "Harry's brave, but also reckless."
"I hardly ever met a Gryffindor student who wasn't reckless," Sirius said, barely able to conceal the smile tugging at his lips. "I recall you mentioning that Harry's Patronus is also a stag."
"Yes, a stag," Lupin nodded. "It appeared during the Quidditch match last semester."
"However, Harry doesn't seem to have had it easy these years. I plan to pay a visit to his Muggle relatives when I have the time," Sirius said, a hint of displeasure flashing across his face. "If it weren't for Dumbledore..."
"Dumbledore has his own considerations," Lupin interrupted. "I'll come with you when the time comes."
"Let's not talk about that for now. Tell me more about yourself," Sirius changed the subject.
"Me? Well, initially, I wanted to work for the Ministry of Magic, but they rejected me, and you can probably guess the reason. In the end, I managed to get a temporary job at the Ministry through my father's connections, but it only lasted half a month." Lupin's lips curved into a bitter smile, and he added, "Thanks to my father's house, I at least had a place to live. After that, I kept working odd jobs, as you know. I couldn't hold down a job for too long, because if anyone found out I was..."
Lupin paused, letting out a soft laugh before continuing, "Then I thought that if I could open a shop, I wouldn't have to worry about being discovered. But that didn't work out either..."
The reason, of course, was that he didn't make enough money to open a store.
"And then?" Sirius asked, realizing that his old friend hadn't had an easy time these past years.
"Later, my opportunities to work in the wizarding world became fewer and fewer, so I could only take on odd jobs in Diagon Alley. When I wasn't working, I took on jobs in Muggle shops as a salesperson or a cleaner. Anyway, it was all very sporadic, and life was just barely getting by," Lupin explained.
"We can open a shop together," Sirius suddenly suggested. "Anyway, I don't have much to do either. I need to find myself a proper job."
Lupin fell silent, deeply touched by the offer.
Of course, he knew that Sirius' suggestion was for his sake, so that he could have a stable job and not have to work odd jobs all the time.
"Let's talk about this later," Remus said, his heart stirring with the offer. But he didn't immediately agree because he didn't know what kind of shop they could open.
In recent days, the Dursleys had been living under a shadow of fear.
This fear stemmed from an incident that occurred a few days after Vernon Dursley and his family had picked up Harry Potter from King's Cross Station.
One morning, Vernon saw his nephew suddenly take out a letter from his pocket and hand it to him, saying that his godfather had asked him to deliver it. The content of the letter roughly stated:
A man named Sirius Black, who claimed to be Harry's godfather, asserted that he was a convicted murderer who had recently escaped from Azkaban prison. He intended to visit them to discuss matters concerning Harry.
In Vernon's impression, Potter didn't have any godfather, but whatever small hope he had was ruthlessly crushed by Harry.
"He's my mom and dad's best friend. He was wrongly convicted, but he escaped from the wizard prison a while ago, and he's been keeping in touch with me through owl post to check on me," Harry explained.
To this day, Vernon still remembered the expression on Harry's face as he said those words.
What terrified him even more was that this convicted murderer intended to pay them a visit, which sent the Dursleys into a panic.
Vernon even considered calling the police, but he had no choice but to meet this so-called murderer named Black.
Because even the police couldn't stop a convicted murderer from showing up on their doorstep.
"When is he coming?"
Vernon asked, his lips quivering, his face pale as he clearly hadn't been doing well these past few days.
"He should be here soon. We agreed to meet at eleven o'clock," Harry replied.
Harry looked up at the clock on the wall, struggling to suppress his laughter and maintain a straight face. He hadn't told the Dursleys that Sirius had been proven innocent and had his reputation restored.
Dudley cowered in the corner of the sofa, while Aunt Petunia looked equally anxious.
In fact, Vernon had considered sending his wife and children away while he faced this notorious murderer Black alone. But Aunt Petunia hadn't agreed, and even Dudley hadn't left, despite their shared fear of the murderer who was about to visit them.
What the Dursleys didn't know was that the convicted murderer, Sirius Black, who was about to pay them a visit, was carefully dressing up for the occasion, standing in front of a full-length mirror and adjusting his suit to make himself look more presentable.
The years spent in Azkaban had taken a lot from Black. The man in the mirror was no longer as handsome as he used to be, and the youthful vigor was gone from his features.
However, since Sirius Black had been exonerated and restored to his former status, a spark of hope had rekindled within him, and his body, worn down by a decade in Azkaban, now exuded vitality once more.
"How do I look?" Black appraised himself in the mirror, turning to the side to ask Lupin, who was also donning an old suit.
To be honest, Sirius disliked this attire, but Remus insisted it was necessary for such a formal meeting.
Truthfully, Lupin would have preferred not to come, as this was Sirius' family matter, and he was merely an outsider. Yet, he worried his old friend would make a mess of things, and having dealt with Muggles extensively in the past, he clearly had a better understanding of how to interact with them.
After all, this meeting was for Harry's sake, so they had to be extra considerate.
"Surrey, Little Whinging, Privet Drive, number four."
Lupin pulled out a piece of parchment with Harry's address, which he had received from the boy, and recited it aloud before checking his pocket watch. "It's about time. We should be off."
They did not Apparate directly to number four, Privet Drive, but instead appeared near the street, avoiding any potential trouble for Harry.
Using magic in a Muggle residential area required extra caution. If magic were to be used near an underage wizard, the Ministry would assume that the minor had performed the magic, leading to a troublesome explanation.
"This is it." Lupin eyed the number on the door—Privet Drive, number four—and rang the doorbell.
The sound of the doorbell sent the Dursleys into a panic, huddling together in the living room, while Harry rushed to answer the door.
After a few tense seconds, they heard hurried footsteps, and the door opened to reveal a surprised Harry.
"Professor Lupin? Why are you here?" Harry blurted out.
"I wanted to make sure Sirius was okay." Lupin offered a smile.
As Sirius surveyed Harry's living environment, he followed the boy into the house and spotted the Dursleys cowering in the living room, their faces filled with terror.
Compared to Sirius' bewilderment, the Dursleys were utterly flabbergasted at the sight of the supposed notorious murderer and his companion, as their attire was surprisingly normal.
"I am Sirius Black," Sirius Black took a deep breath and recited the words he had rehearsed countless times in his mind, "a close friend of James and Lily, and Harry Potter's godfather. I assume Harry has mentioned me to you. My companion here is Remus Lupin, also a friend of James and Lily, and a former professor at Hogwarts."
Sirius conveniently omitted the fact that Lupin was a former professor, and Harry noticed this but chose not to say anything.
"I believe I made it clear in my letter that I'm here to discuss Harry's upbringing and guardianship." Sirius knew that this family had not treated Harry well, but he forcibly suppressed his anger and irritation, striving to remain as polite as possible.
"When we took him in, we were told that you lot had all died or disappeared or something." Petunia glared at Black, her voice shrill.
"Due to certain reasons, Mr. Black was deemed to be affiliated with the... darker side; he was imprisoned in Azkaban until recently, when the Ministry realized their grave mistake." Lupin explained, "This error has been rectified, and Mr. Black has been exonerated and regained his freedom."
The Dursleys stared at Harry, their fear of the wizarding world mingled with anger at being deceived.
"We need your permission to have Harry stay with us for a portion of the summer each year." Lupin frowned, sensing the Dursleys' hostility towards the boy.
"If you want custody, I agree, but why..." Vernon wished for nothing more than for Harry to leave immediately, so their family could return to normal.
"Harry's mother cast an ancient spell to protect him. This magic may be linked to family, affection, or blood ties." Sirius spoke impatiently, "which is why Dumbledore decided to place Harry here in the first place."
"To maintain this magic, it's necessary for Harry Potter to reside here for a period each year before he comes of age. After all, you are the last living relatives with the same blood running through your veins." Lupin added.
This was the first Harry had heard of such a thing, and he had privately complained about why Dumbledore wouldn't let him stay with Sirius.
"As long as he behaves and doesn't do anything strange." Petunia snapped.
"I will." Harry nodded in assurance.
"Wonderful, then we have an agreement." Lupin said cheerfully, "Harry, we'll come for you later."
"We don't expect you to treat Harry like your own child, just treat him as you would any other relative's child." Sirius suddenly fixed the Dursleys with a piercing gaze, issuing a veiled threat, "I don't want to hear about any mistreatment. Are we clear?"
(End of Chapter)
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