Sirius Black stood nervously before his fireplace alongside his live-in nurse Sharon that Alice and Frank had convinced him to hire while he was still recovering. Sharon was easy on the eyes at least, and it had been a big help having her around his family home to help clean things up. Sirius could barely cast anything before becoming exhausted and Grimmauld place was just as dingy and dirty as he remembered it being. The old and decrepit house elf Kreacher was his usual unpleasant self, it was only Sirius’ strict orders that stopped the unpleasant creature from insulting Sharon even more for being muggle born.
But he was distracting himself. It was time for Sirius to finally meet his Godson Harry Potter after all of these years. And Headmistress McGonagall. Hah, headmistress! Sirius chuckled a little as he thought about it. She was one that always knew how to lay down the law. Him and James sometimes abandoned one of their pranks on the spot after she shot one of them a fierce look. She was just that intimidating when she thought the pair were up to something. She was an excellent replacement for… Dumbledore. Sirius wondered if the man had always been so horrible and no one had known, or if it had slowly happened over the last ten years and no one had noticed the change.
The flames flickered up and Sirius stepped through the floo and a second later emerged into the Headmistress’ office.
Sitting there calmly was Harry Potter himself across from McGonagall. Both stared at him with neutral expressions, before McGonagall smiled slightly.
“Sirius Black,” she said, “It is good to have you back. Why don’t you take a seat?”
He nodded and pulled up a chair and sat across from McGonagall and next to Harry, noticing that the boy’s expression was unchanged as he seemed to study Sirius.
Sirius turned to Harry and cleared his throat, “So I’ve been told I’ve got you to thank for my freedom?”
Harry nodded, “I found Peter Pettigrew hiding with my friend as his pet rat. I was going to interrogate him before…”
Harry put a hand to his chest almost unconsciously, but Sirius was surprised to see the boy smiling slightly as he did so, “I was ambushed and hurt. I’m glad the ministry was able to get answers and free you from prison. That island is… seems like a terrible place to live.”
Sirius frowned slightly as Harry switched what he was going to say. Strange. And why would he be happy about being ambushed by Lupin? Sirius knew better than anyone how serious of a business that was.
“Well, I’m glad to be out of that hellhole thanks to you,” he said, “And that that rat is finally facing some justice.”
Harry nodded calmly but didn’t say anything else.
“So, Harry. I’m meeting you for more than just to thank you. Did McGonagall tell you that before your parents died that they made me your godfather?”
Harry tensed a little and quickly glanced at McGonagall, before nodding.
“She said that,” Harry said warily, “But I want to stay with Alice and Frank, and they are my guardians now. They are my family now even if you have a better legal claim.”
Sirius blinked in surprise and then laughed uproariously causing everyone in the room to jump a little. McGonagall gave him a stern look and Sirius calmed himself down,
“Oh, no Harry. Don’t worry about that,” Sirius said, “I’ve already talked with Alice and Frank, we are actually old friends. They are wonderful people, I’m glad you are getting along so well. Just reminds me of how I felt about the Potters when I was a kid. They took me in when I ran away from home. It felt like the family that I had always dreamed of for those years…”
“Ran away from home?” Harry asked curiously, “Why?”
Sirius shook his head, “Do you know anything about the Black family, Harry?”
The boy shook his head so Sirius continued, “The Black family is as dark as they come. Filled with a bunch of blood purists and racists. Nearly all of my family became death eaters when Voldemort first rose to power. In my fourth year, I couldn’t take them anymore and had to get away. I’m glad that I did it, I was much happier once I got away from the lot of them.”
“Are you the Heir now that you are the last Black? Will that help you readjust if it gives you access to an inheritance or special magic?” Harry asked curiously.
Sirius blinked, he hadn’t even considered that before, “How in the world do you know about that?” Sirius asked in surprise. He had thought they didn’t teach about those things at Hogwarts, there was no need to smear the unfairness of the wizarding world even further in the muggleborn's faces.
McGonagall also looked at the boy in interest, “Read it in the library,” he answered easily and McGonagall settled down with a huff and shook her head, seeming to accept the explanation in the instant.
“Read in the library?” Sirius asked incredulously, “I thought you were in Gryffindor?”
“Harry here is a genuine prodigy, Sirius,” McGonagall said lightheartedly, “With his perfect memory he and his friend Hermione have been top of their class. It's not often that I see either of those two without a book in their hands.”
“My Godson is a secret Ravenclaw!” Sirius said, “I can’t believe it, James’ son is a bookworm!”
Harry shrugged, “I could have been in any of the houses. But I chose Gryffindor because all my friends got sorted there.”
McGonagall frowned, “Chose? Harry, whatever do you mean? Didn’t the house simply sort you into the house you were suited for?”
The boy shook his head, “No, it said I was equally suited for all houses so it let me choose,” he said simply, “So I went into Gryffindor.”
“Even Slytherin?” Sirius asked.
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“Especially Slytherin,” Harry replied with a faint smile as he met Sirius’ gaze.
“But luckily my friends went all into one house so I didn’t have to think about it too hard,” Harry said, “I am rather lucky they didn’t go into Slytherin, the fallout from snapping Draco Malfoy's wand would have been much more unpleasant and possibly deadly if I had to sleep around them.”
Sirius choked, “Sn-Snapped his wand? Malfoy? How on earth did you get away with that?”
“It was done on Harry’s first day,” McGongall interjected, “And after the various incidents that he has been involved in, the board let the matter go. The boy had only had the wand for a few weeks, so it is hardly the same as a grown wizard losing their wand after they’ve increased their bond with it over the course of years.”
“Quite the troublemaker, are you?” Sirius said, “What else happened that was more important than snapping a wand? Why has no one even mentioned that?”
“A lot has happened since then. Let’s see…” Harry said thoughtfully. “First there was me healing Alice and Frank from their insanity. That took about a month. Then some seventh year Slytherins tried to torture me. They were caught before they could go too far, luckily. They got sent to Azkaban. Then I took down a troll and knocked it unconscious after leading it away from my friend Hermione... Professor Quirrell tried to murder me with the killing curse at the end of my first year, which is what put me in a coma. Oh, That’s when Dumbledore performed the memory charm on me too... After I woke from my coma a year later, I went down into the chamber of secrets and saved Ginny Weasley from being killed by a cursed journal trying to possess her.”
Sirius’ head was whirling. He was expecting some pranks, maybe some bullying at the worst. Perhaps a particularly nasty cursed object leading to Harry’s coma. Was this… he was still going?
“Obviously there was my kidnapping under Dumbledore’s orders, my escape from them, and Dumbledore's trial last summer,” Harry said, “I accidentally cast dark magic when I faced a boggart we were confronting in class, forgetting that it was only a spirit. That was earlier this year… then the recent incident with Lupin and fighting him while he was a werewolf.”
Harry cocked his head to the side and appeared to think, “Yes, I think that's everything. Your return from prison is making big waves too, a lot of the old families are upset you never got a trial. Something about the ministry trying to suppress you since you were the last of your bloodline.”
“I… Wow,” Sirius said, stunned, “All of that really happened?” he said pleadingly, turning to McGonagall. She nodded,
“As unbelievable as it is, all that and more has happened since Harry has come to Hogwarts,” She said, “He truly is a magnet for trouble. But he has handled himself well given everything, better than most adult wizards would, I reckon.”
Sirius looked at Harry appraisingly. He had certainly done far more than Sirius had ever done in his seven years of school in his first three.
“Well, good job making it through all of that,” Sirius said, “Maybe I could teach you some advanced dueling sometime if you’re up to it. Maybe over your next Christmas break after I've recovered a bit. Sounds like you’d appreciate some pointers.”
“That sounds good if Alice and Frank agree,” Harry said cautiously, “I’ve never had a real duel with anyone before even if I know a lot of spells.”
“Excellent!” Sirius said with a grin, “I’m looking forward to it. I want you to know that I’ll help you and try to be the best godfather I can to you Harry, even if Alice and Frank are the ones taking care of you. If you have any questions or things you want to discuss with your fun loving uncle, just write a letter. Maybe I could tell you some fun pranks you and your father did when we went to school here. We were very creative.”
“Sirius…” McGonagall said with some exasperation, “Don’t be a bad influence on the boy. I’m not sure I want to deal with any pranks from him considering how skilled he is rapidly becoming…”
“Don’t worry, Headmistress,” Harry reassured her, “If I start pranking people I’ll do my best to make sure no one will know it was me, and then you won’t get in trouble. Plus Fred and George have been trying to convince me to go on adventures all year and I’ve resisted them so far.”
Sirius grinned and laughed, “Ah, that’s the spirit, Harry! The essence of the best prank is getting away clean! You tell her. These Fred and George people have the right idea, maybe you should listen to them.”
McGonagall rubbed her temples, “For the love of Merlin… Harry, please don’t prank people at this school even if your Godfather tries to sway you. I have enough headaches to deal with in this job…”
“Okay, Headmistress,” Harry said seriously, “I won’t. I don’t want to cause any more trouble.”
McGonagall froze and looked back at the placid Harry. She sighed after a long moment.
“I suppose, as long as it is kept manageable,” she began, “-and you make sure that no one gets hurt… then you could join in on a little fun pranking,” she said as if she didn’t believe what she was saying. Sirius couldn’t believe what she was saying. McGonagall of all people, agent of order, advocating for pranking? Impossible. “Just keep it reasonable and out of the classroom if you do so, Mr. Potter.” McGonagall finished with a stern tone, “Do you understand?”
“Yes, Headmistress,” Harry replied, “I will, I promise.”
“Good,” she said.
The conversation moved on as Sirius learned more about what his godson had been up to. Some of the spells he had been learning were quite interesting, Sirius might be interested in learning a few of them just for novelty’s sake. And silent casting too at Harry’s age, quite the achievement. He really hadn’t been kidding about knowing a lot of spells. Although with his memory… maybe it was for the best that he wasn't in Ravenclaw. Sirius could just imagine their jealous little faces staring upwards as Harry passed them easily in pure knowledge, if not skill, effortlessly. Maybe Sirius could teach Harry how to become an animagus if he was willing. It was downright useful, which he was sure his godson would appreciate and the boy was certainly advanced enough to do it.
McGonagall soon moved to wrap things up, “Now, I’m glad you two are getting to know each other better. But I’m afraid our time is up, and I have work to do.”
She looked to Sirius and stood, “Sirius, a pleasure to have you back. I’m glad justice is finally being done.”
“Justice…” Sirius said, letting the word roll on his lips for a few moments, “Justice indeed. I’m looking forward to it,” he finished with some anger.
He turned back to Harry, “It has been good getting to know you a little better, Harry. Remember just to write a letter if you need help with anything at all. Especially… any girl trouble you might need advice on.”
McGonagall sighed in exasperation, but Harry just looked confused. “Girl trouble?” Harry said, “What do you mean? I don’t think I’m in trouble with Hermione or Ginny, am I? Is that different than boy trouble?”
Sirius shook his head. The boy really was clueless. “Nevermind, you’ll know what I mean when it happens,” he said, “I should be going now. I was supposed to be back over an hour ago, my nurse Sharon will be worried I’m sure. Quite the mother hen, that one is.”
McGonagall clucked her tongue, “Maybe you need a mother hen in your life more, Sirius,” she said, “I see that even after all this time you are irreverent as ever.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said with a slightly strained grin. Couldn’t she see he was doing his best to put a good face forward for his godson? Better than seeing him as a depressed and beaten down wreck still recovering from ten years in hell.
McGonagall flicked her wand and the fireplace erupted in green flames, “Best of luck on your recovery, Sirius,” she said.
“Goodbye Minerva, Harry,” he replied before walking back through the fireplace where he let the strain of maintaining his happy go lucky image wash over him. He stumbled over to the couch and collapsed there. After a few minutes Sharon came over and started helping him to bed through lidded vision. She really was a kind person, Sirius thought drowsily as she covered him with the bedsheet.
She was worth every galleon that he paid her.