Chapter 54:

Harry turned and looked at Remus and shrugged lightly before turning to look at Sirius and Amelia.

"Sorry about that," he said softly. "I don't know why he takes such an interest in me." "It's quite alright, Mr. Potter. Now, the offer does stand if you would like to come back to Bones Manor; you're more than welcome," she said.

Harry thought about it before he spoke, "That's okay. Though I would love to see Susie, I fear if I turned up now she would beat me for keeping all of this from her."

Amelia smiled, "Want me to warm her up for you?"

"Please? Maybe mention how much she would miss me if she killed me for keeping secrets?" Harry added.

Amelia smiled and approached Harry. "You are always welcome at our home, Harry. And about our conversation tomorrow, I will expect you at noon in my office," she said.

"Thank you, Madam Bones," Harry said.

"Oh, and please, call me Amelia when it's nothing official," Amelia said.

Amelia turned then and walked out of the doors Albus had vacated from. Harry walked closer to Sirius and offered the man a smile. Sirius launched himself at Harry and pulled the boy into a tight hug, mumbling "thank you's and I'm sorry's" in between kisses to Harry's head.

"It's okay, Siri - you're okay, I'm okay," Harry reassured the man. Remus cleared his throat after a few minutes, pulling Sirius out of his mind and back to the real world.

"It's good to see you, Pads," he said hesitantly, before Sirius pulled him down into the hug.

Eventually, Harry wormed his way out and saw that the room had been cleared.

"I think we should probably leave," he said to the two men.

Remus pulled himself up and offered Sirius a hand.

"You're staying at the Leaky," Sirius said, his voice still a bit croaky. Harry watched as Sirius stood and looked down at himself, reminding Harry of what he was wearing. Seeing this, Harry nudged Remus and smiled as the wolf stumbled to pull out the robe he had brought for Sirius.

Sirius smiled and pulled the robe on over his prison clothes; it was dark grey and slightly too big, but it was clean and new.

"Come on," Harry said, "I think we still have to sign some things before we can leave."

~

After eventually getting free from the ministry, with Sirius barely managing to worm his way out of being admitted to Saint Mungo's for 24 hour care (instead promising to attend daily sessions), the three of them returned to their rooms at the Leaky Cauldron. They made sure to keep their hoods up as the public wouldn't know about the trial until tomorrow's papers.

Entering the rooms, Harry insisted Sirius go bathe and ordered food for them all. It was only just after 12, but still he felt drained. They had a lot to sort out before the week was out and Harry wanted to get started on it right away.

After he bathed, Sirius decided to cut his hair and his beard before he re-joined them. Eating the food quickly and savouring every bite, the three didn't talk until Sirius slowed down. "So…," Sirius said, eventually looking up at the faces surrounding him.

"Hi," Harry said sheepishly. Now that the drama had calmed down, Harry didn't want to upset Sirius again.

Sirius smiled. "You're just like your father, he always had to break the ice," he said.

"He sounds like a great man," Harry said.

Sirius's smile faded. "He was."

"I don't even know where to start," Harry admitted.

Sirius frowned slightly. "Maybe with why I ended up in there in the first place. Dumbledore knew I was innocent - he was the binder for the spell. Hagr id had seen me," he said, his voice stronger but still raspy.

Remus cringed. "I'm so sorry, Sirius. By the time I got back to England you were already in jail. Harry was just gone and everybody said it was you, your fault. Dumbledore, the papers, everybody. I just couldn't cope…," Remus said, his voice fading as he looked away.

Harry, knowing that the wolf had been controlled, placed a hand on his knee in support.

"I think I should start," Harry said, interrupting Sirius, who looked angry. "When I reentered this world, I visited the goblins. They performed a blood inheritance test on me as I had grown up ignorant of magic with my muggle aunt and uncle - well, mostly ignorant. The test revealed magical blocks and compulsions; Dumbledore placed them on me. There was even a blood glamour on me to make me look like my father. After I had them removed, I didn't know what to do; my memory has always been exceptional, that's why I say mostly ignorant. I can remember you Pads, giving me lifts on your back when I was a baby - that's the only real thing I remember about my life before that night. I asked about you, thinking you had just abandoned me like everybody else seemed to have, when I was told about your imprisonment. That's when I hired Dodge through the goblins." "Wait, you remember that far back?" Sirius asked, shocked.

"Yes - my memories are vague, but I remember that night clearly. Anyway, after I hired Dodge, I went to Hogwarts. It was my first year, obviously, and I was sorted into Ravenclaw. Dumbledore was weird all year and was overly interested in me. I made friends with Neville Longbottom, Hannah Abbott, and Susan Bones, and even they noticed Dumbledore was weird with me. I also then found out he is my magical guardian. However, until the day I saw him at the opening feast, I had never met him. I grew up with my magic hating muggle relatives; abused, beaten, and starved. I had no idea about being the Boy-Who-Lived or any other nonsense. He left me alone, unchecked." Sirius looked angry and confused, reminding Harry he would have to be cleansed of magic as he probably had compulsions making him want to remain loyal to Dumbledore.

"I met Remus last week; I wrote to him and told him about your trial. I made him get checked out and, like me, he had compulsions on him. Dumbledore has done this before," Harry said.

Sirius was shaking and Harry watched as he seemed to fight with himself.

"They hurt you?" he asked eventually. His voice was abnormally calm.

"It wasn't that bad. This year I had help! Madame Pomfrey and Professor Snape really cared and supplied me with great healing ointments and potions," Harry said.

"They hurt my pup on purpose. Dumbledore abandoned you! He locked me up and abandoned you to be hurt!" Sirius continued.

"Sirius, calm down," Harry said, moving to hug him.

Sirius latched onto the small boy and held him tightly. "I will kill them," he promised.

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