After a long and cathartic ride, they made it to the house unscathed and were soon ensconced in the kitchen, eating more of the pheasant and stuffing that Sirius had had earlier. Harry had never had pheasant before and was enjoying the meal. He hadn't had to cook it, so that was a bonus in his books. Soon enough, his tummy was full, and he was pleasantly tired. His eyes were heavy, and his head was a bit fuzzy. Not just from the food, but from the crying earlier too.
"Why did you come for me?" he asked, glad that they did, but unsure where to go from here. He was trying to stay awake so he could hear the answer, but he was only six and it was late. That and it had been an emotional evening, with lots of surprises and changes.
"You wished to be cared for, right?" Sirius asked, like that was what was important. He leaned forward a bit to look into Harry's eyes. He could see the boy was sleepy. He wanted to wrap him up and bundle him into bed and keep him there until he was healthy.
"Yes," Harry said, cautiously. He had wished for it in the past, and no one had listened. He had told his teacher last year that the Dursleys were mean, but since they didn't hit him, she didn't think it was bad enough to intervene. She said he needed to 'man up' and be a good boy. He didn't like her much after that.
"I heard your wish, while I was sleeping. I think magic made me hear, or a god, I'm not sure. Anyway, I heard it and knew I had to get to you, so I broke out of prison and came as soon as I could," Sirius said, pushing his plate away and picking up his bottle of butterbeer. "It was a rough week, but I came. I didn't remember your aunt's last name, so I came to see grandfather. We used magic to find you," he said, pointing to his grandfather and back to himself.
"But why?" was the question. He just didn't understand why the man, who was a complete stranger, came for him.
"You are the only thing that kept me sane in that hellhole, prison I mean. I promised your parents that you would be loved," the dogman explained. "I thought you were being well taken care of. You were supposed to be with people that loved you. I knew the man who took you away, and I thought you were with other people, not Petunia. When I heard your wish, I knew you weren't with the Longbottoms, or anyone else that was supposed to take you, and that you were with your aunt, so I had to rectify that," was the answer. "Besides, I was innocent and tired of waiting for my trial," he added nonchalantly. All of this was true.
"Oh," the boy said confused. He didn't understand any of what the man was saying. Who were the Longbottoms, or the man who took him away?
Then his eyes grew wide as dessert appeared on the table. It was bread and butter pudding with ice cream that Harry had loved to make but had never tried before. The Dursleys were right bastards. They never let him have pudding. He took a huge helping and was surprised at how good it tasted. He closed his eyes in pleasure at the sweet taste. He was so going to eat afters from now on. He just hoped he didn't get fat like Dudley. He was sure that he wouldn't, but he'd have to be careful. He remembered his aunt talking about too many sweets making one fat. He always wondered why she let Dudley eat so many.
They ate for a few minutes, polishing off the dessert quickly enough. Harry let out a jaw cracking yawn and slumped a bit in his chair. He did that boneless posture that only children could pull off.
"Let's get you cleaned up and into bed," Sirius said, thinking they might have some old clothes in the house for the child. They hadn't thought to grab any of the child's things. This house had seen two children raised though, not to mention the gaggle of cousins, grandchildren and so on, so there was bound to be something laying around.
"I don't have any nightclothes," Harry said, pointing that out. His eyes opened wide as he realized that everything he owned was gone. Not that he owned much, but there were some things that he would miss. They were little things, and replaceable, but still… There was the little soldier that he had rescued from the bin and the crayons that one teacher had given him, and a blanket that he had had for as long as he could remember. It was torn and all but threadbare, but it was his.
"Tibbers," Arcturus called to the air, thinking the same thing as Sirius.
In popped an elf. "Master is calling Tibbers?" it said, looking around the room to see what needed to be done.
"Do we have any clothes to fit Harry here?" he asked, pointing to the child.
The elf looked at the awe-struck boy. He measured him critically with his eye and nodded. "Tibbers can be adjusting some for him," he said and snapped his fingers and clothes appeared on a chair next to Harry.
Harry jumped startled at seeing the magic. He looked at the old-fashioned clothing. It was a long nightshirt, a robe, and some slippers. He picked the nightshirt up and saw that it was a bit too long for him, and as he was holding it to himself the elf snapped his fingers again and it began to shrink. Harry dropped it in shock.
Sirius laughed and stood, he moved around the table and picked up the nightshirt and held it up to Harry. "There now, it should fit," he said, holding it to the boy's front. It did fit, and Harry looked at the house elf in astonishment.
Harry leaned to the side to get next to his godfather's ear and whispered, "What is he?" Pointing to Tibbers. He had never seen the like, not even on the telly.
"That is Tibbers, a house elf," Sirius said, nodding in the elf's direction. "They are servants to wizards." He really didn't want to get into the whole slave/symbiont debate tonight. He had heard it from Lily and other muggleborn and a few half-bloods. He really didn't want to get into it with a six-year-old. The muggles were raised to look down on any form of slavery even if it was a symbiont type.
"Oh," Harry said, not sure if that was the whole story, but he let it go for now. He let out a huge yawn and put his hand over his mouth to cover it up. "Sorry," he said, in a sheepish manner. His aunt would have smacked him if he had done that in her face. He looked sideways at the dogman to see his reaction and was happy to see the man just smile at him in an indulging manner.
"Let's find you a room," Arcturus said, getting up with creaking bones. He would need to take his potions tonight; he had been far more active than he usually was. He made his way to the stairs and was glad that they were self-moving. He had spelled them that way when his knees had started bothering him. Well, more like when they started giving out on him halfway up the stairs. He wasn't that lazy. He was over eighty years old, sue him.
"Getting lazy in your old age?" Sirius teased him as they rode up the stairs. Not that he minded, he liked the moving stairs, that and Harry looked dead on his feet.
Harry just marveled at the moving stairs. He had been on some like them at the mall, but never like this in a private home. He was glad he didn't have to walk up all these steps. They looked like they had gone up for miles.
"Shut it, you young fool," Arcturus snapped at him. He really didn't like his age pointed out to him. He knew he wasn't long for this world, and he still had much to accomplish. He was feeling much better now that Sirius had given him a purpose. Sprier. Focused.
"Sorry, Grandfather," Sirius said, sincerely. He had been teasing, but he could see that he had hit a nerve. He really wanted to stay on the man's good side as well.
"Forget it," Arcturus said, waving it away. He knew he was just being touchy. Sirius was just being Sirius.
"Grandfather," Harry said, tentatively, not sure how to address the man, "is this your house?" he asked. It was either the old man's or Sirius'. He hoped it was the latter, but he doubted it. Sirius seemed to defer to his grandfather.
"Yes," was the answer.
"Will I be living here?" the boy asked, hoping that to be true at least. It was a really big house, and he could get used to being here. As long as he didn't have to clean the whole thing. Then again, they had house elves, which Sirius said were servants, so maybe he only had to clean a little bit.
"For the time being," Arcturus said, still going over plans. They had to either free Sirius or hide him. He was still working on that. There were a couple of ways they could go about it. He was leaning towards one way, more than the other.
"Oh, okay," Harry said, clutching the nightshirt, robe, and slippers in his arms. He was holding on to them like a lifeline. They were the only things he owned right now, if they were his. They might just be letting him borrow them. He wondered if there were any pants.
They made it to the second floor where the bedrooms were and hustled Harry to one that was unoccupied. It was a simple room done in tones of blue with a bed, a wardrobe, and a desk. Harry thought it was grand. It was loads better than the cupboard.
They got him dressed and cleaned up and tucked in. Harry luxuriated in the feel of having seminew clothes that didn't feel like Dudley had worn to rags first. Aunt Petunia only ever gave him stuff that was fit for the bin. She said he didn't deserve anything better.
"Sirius?" Harry said as he climbed into bed, hoping they could get at least his blanket from his aunt's house.
"Yeah?"
"There's a blanket at my aunt's…" he said, trailing off.
"Tilly," Sirius called, and when the house elf appeared, he continued, "Harry had a blanket in the cupboard under the stairs in the house we were at earlier. Can you retrieve it?"
"Yes, Master Sirius," Tilly said, popping away. She reappeared a moment later with a blanket that was faded blue and had a few faded golden snitches on it. It was in sad shape and needed cleaning desperately. "Tilly wills be cleaning this and bringing it back when she is done," she said, and popped away.
"Thanks, Sirius," Harry said, just happy the blanket was here and not with his aunt.
"Did you want a story?" Sirius asked, not sure if that was what you were supposed to do with children, but he had heard about it from kids in school. His mum and dad never told him or Reg any stories, that was for sure. However, he was going to do this right.
"Ummm, sure?" Harry said, warily. He knew that Aunt Petunia told Dudley stories before bed, and sometimes he could hear her voice down the stairs. When he was smaller, he would pretend she was reading to him too. Now he knew better. When she found out he was listening, she started closing Dudley's door.
So, Sirius sat on the bed and told him about a time that he, Moony, Wormtail, and Prongs, who was Harry's father, had gotten into trouble with the mean transfiguration teacher in the castle in the mountains. They were creating mischief and were sneaking through the castle trying to get to their secret lair and not be snatched up by the teacher. They were all in their secret animal forms, bar Moony, and were hiding from the greasy git that was trying to catch them.
Harry was asleep before they even got caught, which was the end of the story. Tilly popped back in and put the now clean and mended blanket on in his arms. It looked refreshed, but not quite new. There was only so much magic could do. Harry cuddled it like a teddy bear, a soft sigh escaped his lips when he felt the blanket in his arms.
Arcturus had stood aside and listened to the story and was astonished that Sirius was so gentle with the boy. He really shouldn't have been, his childhood had been harsh. Then again, Sirius was always good with Regulus when they were children. "Come, he's asleep," he said quietly when Harry started a soft snore. The child was rubbing his face on the blanket like he was remembering something nice. There was a content smile on his face, so his dreams must be pleasant.
Sirius leaned over and kissed Harry's forehead, near his scar. He frowned at that scar and then moved off the bed. The two men rode down the stairs, one grateful for the ease of it, the other just thought it was funny.
"We have to do something about the Dursleys," Sirius said, flopping down in a chair without care once they reached the study.
"Sit in my chairs. Don't flop," Arcturus said, rapping him on the head as he passed him. "I know," he said, going to his desk and procuring some parchment and ink. "I feel the same," he added. He wrote a quick note and then dusted it with some powder. He then went to the window and whistled. An owl soon appeared. The old man attached the note and sent the owl on its way.
"What was that?" Sirius asked, knowing it was a letter, but not to who.
"A note to an acquaintance," was the short answer.
"Oh?" Sirius asked with an inquiring tone.
"They will be here shortly," Arcturus said, knowing this person lived a short distance away.
"Do I have to hide?" Sirius asked, he was a wanted criminal after all.
"Probably for the best," the old man said after a moment's thought.
They sat and drank some firewhiskey provided to them by the house elves for around five minutes. Sirius just sipped his, he really didn't need alcohol. He was still recovering from Azkaban. Each man was caught up in their own thoughts.
Sirius was thinking about what he had observed in Harry and how he had failed as a godfather. He was wallowing. He knew that, and he was trying to snap out of it. He had done enough of that in Azkaban. He needed to get his head in the game. He was thinking more clearly than he had in years, and he needed to grasp his inner Slytherin and get Harry and himself out of Britain, or his name cleared. He just didn't know how to do either… yet. There were plans to be made and things to get done. He needed information and money. First and foremost, he needed to protect Harry.
Arcturus was thinking along the same lines, but without wallowing. He was also thinking about how to politically manipulate Malfoy out of the line of succession. Not that the man was really in there to begin with, but if Lucius was devious enough, he could pull it off. He had the political clout and the money; however, he would set a precedent for something many didn't want to happen. It would be an uphill battle for the man, and Arcturus was going to make it difficult for him every step of the way.
"I have a question," Sirius said out of the blue. "Why haven't you booted Narcissa and Bella out of the family?" It had been something that bugged him all night.
"Then there be nobody left. If I took them out, then I'd have to kick you out too. Only us old fogies would be left, and the family name would die out. As it was, I was thinking of reinstating Andromeda," Arcturus said, rubbing his chin in frustration. "The only reason I haven't yet is because of the political backlash." He was poised to do just that when Sirius escaped Azkaban. It might be something he would do the next Wizengamot meeting. If only to see Lucius' face when he did.
"I'd do that as soon as possible, fuck the backlash. We're Blacks, we don't kowtow to anyone. Malfoy can bugger off for all we care," Sirius said, guessing correctly who his grandfather was cautious of.
"He has the ear of the Minister," the old man warned.
"Then have the ear of the Prime Minister," Sirius said, with a great deal of cheek.
That gave Arcturus pause. Why hadn't he thought of that? It was so simple. He knew the Prime Minister. They had met during one of the business parties that Arcturus had attended in the muggle world. All he had to do was go and see the man and plead his case. There was no love lost between the MOM and the PM. It would be so easy, and it would cost him nothing. He would talk to the man coming tonight.
Just then the wards let Arcturus know that someone was on the property. "Hide," he told Sirius, who promptly turned into Padfoot.
A burly man, who looked very much like a Black with black wavy hair and grey eyes, was escorted in by Tibbers and sat in the chair that Sirius had been sitting in. "What do you want, old man?" he asked, picking up the glass that Sirius had been sipping out of, and downing the contents.
"There are some muggles I need reported to the police. They are child abusers, and I have removed the child, but they need to pay for their crimes," Arcturus stated, wrinkling his nose at the fact that the man had just drank Sirius' firewhiskey. Good thing alcohol was a disinfectant.
"You removed the child?" the man asked, raising an eyebrow. That was out of character for the old man.
"Yes, I've relocated him to a safe place," the old man answered. Padfoot woofed, drawing attention to himself.
"When did you get a dog?" the man asked, looking at the massive mutt. He looked like a grim and like he could take off and arm with little difficulty.
"I need the extra protection," Arcturus said, patting his thigh, making Padfoot come to him. Padfoot trotted over and sat next to his grandfather and looked for all the world like a good and obedient dog.
"Right," the man said, skeptically. "Who is the mark?" he asked, taking out a notebook and biro. This was the first time Arcturus actually involved the law in his request. Usually, it was shadier. Under the table dealings with businessmen who weren't complying with their contracts. Not quite mafia, but close. The Blacks weren't a family you wanted to piss off, muggle or magical.
"Vernon and Petunia Dursley at 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey," he said, giving him all the information, he had. "They have a small child. Be mindful of that," he warned. "Tell the authorities to pay attention to the cupboard under the stairs. That is where they stashed the boy," he added, looking at a picture on the wall to distract himself for a moment.
"I'll get right on it," the man said, looking around the room like there would be something else to capture his attention. He hated child abusers and wanted to calm himself down. There was a nice painting of a beach scene. He looked at it for a moment and breathed.
"Hold off for a day or two. I have something I need to do first," the old man instructed, making the man's attention focus back on him.
"I can do that. I'll make some inquiries," the man said, tapping his pen on the notebook. It wasn't the strangest request, and if they didn't report the boy missing that would make it worse for them. He went to put his notebook away and got ready to leave.
"I need another favor," Arcturus said, holding up his hand to forestall the man's departure.
"What?" was the impatient reply. It was late and he had dinner waiting.
"Can you make an appointment for me with the Prime Minister?" was the request, making the other man's eyebrows raise.
"Of bloody course, you know the PM," the man grumbled, making a note in his book. "Do I use your name?" he asked, wanting to make sure it would be above the table.
"Yes," Arcturus said with a nod.
"I'll make it tomorrow and send you an owl when it is," the man said, putting the notebook away.
"I'll make sure your pay is on your account when all is said and done," Arcturus stated, waving the man to depart.
"Make sure that you do, old man," the man said, getting up and leaving.
They made sure the wards said he was gone before Padfoot became Sirius. He stood and stretched and sat back in his chair.
"Who was that?" the young man asked, looking around the room as if to make sure they were alone again.
"Your cousin Marius' son," Arcturus stated, looking at the doorway were the man had left. "His name is Marcus," he added, nodding to the empty doorway. "I knew Marius after he was booted from the family. We kept in touch. He's one of the reasons I know the muggle world so well. He died not long ago, but his children do favors for me. Well, they get paid, but they do these things for family," he explained, picking up his glass and finishing off his firewhiskey. "He'll make sure the Dursleys get what's coming to them," he finished.
"Good," Sirius said, getting a new glass. "When did you want to do the adoption?" he asked, wanting to get those wards transferred over.
"I wanted to talk to you about that. How would you like to be a Potter?" Arcturus asked, looking at the younger man.
"You mean use Harry to adopt me into the Potter family? Why?" he asked confused.
"To hide your magical signature, of course. You'd no longer be Sirius Black, and we can hide you in plain sight," the old man explained.
"Oh," was all Sirius said as he sipped his drink. He contemplated that for a while. That might work. That and he could be a long-lost cousin of Harry's, more in line to take custody of him. "Would we still need to do the blood adoption on Harry?"
"No, we can change the wards over without it. All we need is for you two to share bloodlines," Arcturus said, rubbing his chin in thought. "That might be for the best. There are things that Harry might need to stay himself for later down the line. Like his inheritance. You, on the other hand, are not in line to inherit, therefore don't need to remain yourself."
"Good point," Sirius said, taking more sips of his drink and thinking about the ramifications of what they were planning. "Okay. I'll do it," he finally said.
"Of course, you will. That was never up for debate," Arcturus stated, giving him a glare.
Sirius just rolled his eyes at the old man.