Chapter - 63 : Unsettled Truths

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"Can you forgive our stupidity?"

There was a moment of silence, then Harry sighed and shot his friends a weary smile. "Of course I can. Though I won't be near as easy on you the next time you blindly follow Dumbledore's orders."

"It won't happen again," Hermione said earnestly.

With apologies out of the way, the three friends settled down to talk about the things they'd got up to over the summer, they were soon joined by the Weasley twins and Ginny, who still blushed a soft pink whenever Harry addressed her in the conversation.

The fairly peaceful atmosphere was shattered, however, by a tremendous crash from the bottom floor, followed by the sudden loud screeching of a very angry, foul mouthed woman.

The teens hurried down the stairs to see the cause of the commotion and found Tonks sprawled out on the ground beside a fallen umbrella stand that looked disturbingly like a large, hairy leg, and a portrait of a horribly ugly woman framed by the long black curtains Harry had become all too familiar with the horrible Walburga Black the previous summer; he, Sirius, and Remus had done just about everything in their power to either remove her from the wall or destroy the portrait, but whatever spells that were preserving her were still holding fast.

It took Sirius, Remus, and Mr. Weasley to wrench her curtains shut and restore some semblance of order in the house. The moment that was through, Sirius turned to Harry with a tired smile on his face and opened his arms for a hug. "Sorry about that, old bat just doesn't know when to quit."

"I'd hoped you'd have found some way to get rid of her before I returned," Harry said. "Although, I should have known she wouldn't be giving in so easy. Now, what's this I hear about you letting Dumbledore use Grimmauld Place as the Order's headquarters? He deserves no favors from you after all that he's done."

"Yeah, I'm not exactly Dumbledore's biggest fan, but I thought it was a good idea at the time and I still do," Sirius shrugged. "It's easier to keep an eye on everything he's done when he's conducting it under my roof. Keep your friends close and whatnot."

Harry nodded in reluctant agreement and allowed Sirius to steer him to the kitchen where he introduced him to one of the newer members of the Order, Mundungus Fletcher.

Harry had never met the man officially, but he recognized him as one of the guards who'd been skulking around outside of the Dursleys'. Mrs. Weasley didn't seem to approve of the dumpy man's presence, and after being formally introduced he understood why; the man was a crook and a drunk. But he had his purposes for the Order, so Harry said nothing against him, simply allowing him to discuss dubious dealing with Fred and George on the other end of the table.

Other than Mrs. Weasleys disgruntlement at Mundungus' presence, dinner was a calm affair, especially considering the amount of people present; Tonks kept the teens entertained by constantly shifting appearances, while the adults engaged in banal conversation. However, once the meal had ended and the plates were cleared away, the atmosphere grew tense as Sirius and Mrs. Weasley began shooting pointed looks in each other's' directions.

"All right," Mrs. Weasley said, clearing away the empty dished with a wave of her wand, "time for bed."

"Not just yet, Molly," Sirius said interjected. "There's some things I'd like to discuss with Harry, and the others if you'll allow it."

Mrs. Weasley shoulders tensed. "I don't think it's necessary, Sirius," she said stiffly. "They're much too young."

"I beg to differ, but if you want to leave your children in the dark, I have no say in that, Harry on the other hand-"

"It's not down to you to decide what's good for Harry!" Mrs. Weasley snapped sharply. "You haven't forgotten what Dumbledore said, I suppose?"

"Which bit?" Sirius drawled sarcastically.

"The bit about not telling Harry more than he needs to know."

"Which is nothing apparently. Now, I was kind enough to allow you all into my home, after all of the wrongs Dumbledore has done me, but I will not allow you to dictate my godson's life. If he wants to know what's going on with Voldemort, then dammit he'll know."

"I think," Remus cut in before things developed into an all out shouting match, "that it's better that Harry gets the facts, not all the facts, Molly, but the general picture, from us, rather than a garbled version from others."

"Well," said Mrs. Weasley, breathing deeply and looking around the table for support that did not come, "I can see I'm going to be overruled. I'll just say this: Dumbledore must have had his reasons for not wanting Harry to know too much, and speaking as someone who has Harry's best interests at heart -"

"He's not your son," Sirius interrupted quietly.

"He's as good as," said Mrs. Weasley fiercely. "Who else has he got?"

"He's got me!"

"Yes," said Mrs. Weasley, her lip curling, "the thing is, it's been rather difficult for you to look after him while you've been locked up in Azkaban, hasn't it?"

"And whose fault is that?" Sirius shouted rising to his feet. "I was an innocent man, but not one of you, my friends and allies, had enough faith in me to believe that! None of you took even a second to sit back and think that James and Lily were my best friends, that Harry was like a son to me; I would have neverbetrayed them to Voldemort. But you all believed in Dumbledore's false assumptions, no doubt because I hailed from a dark family, and because of that I, an innocent man, rotted in Azkaban for thirteen years. You do not have the right to use my imprisonment against me."

The silence that followed was heavy with the guilt from the older members.

"Sirius, I-"

"I think Harry should be allowed a say in this," Sirius said quietly, sinking back in his chair.

"I want to know what's been going on," Harry responded after a second's hesitation.

"Fine," Mrs. Weasley said tremulously. "If that's what you want who am I to say otherwise?" she attempted to kick the other children out, but she didn't seem to have much fight left in her as, after only a few minutes, she finally conceded in allowing everyone but Ginny to remain and listen.

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Loving the story so far? There's a whole world of magic and mystery waiting for you with over 85+ chapters still to come! By supporting my Patreon.

You not only get early access to new chapters but also exclusive content, behind-the-scenes insights, and special perks just for fans like you.

Join us on this enchanted journey and help shape the future of the tale. Your support makes all the difference—discover more and become part of the adventure today!

http//patreon.com/Kun_kanshi

(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)

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