Grimmauld Place Part 2
Chapter 3: Grimmauld Place Part 2
Harry believed Sirius would be the easiest target, considering the man saw him as a stand-in for James, and they had broken plenty of rules in their time. Having had so much time alone to think had given Harry clarity about things he had never given a second thought to before. For example, Sirius's imprisonment. Last year, Harry had watched Barty Crouch Jr.’s trial and saw Dumbledore advocating for Snape, a known Death Eater with a Dark Mark. So, what was it? Had Dumbledore used up all his “great wizard” points saving the Potions professor? Why had he never once attempted to visit Sirius and hear his side of the story?
Sirius hadn’t even had a trial. A pureblood from a famous family, and he wasn’t given a trial. Harry understood that his godfather didn’t have the cleanest background, and the circumstances under which he was found didn’t exactly scream "innocent," but someone should have done something—tried something. Was Sirius truly alone? Harry couldn’t pretend to understand what the wizarding world was like back then, with the horrors and paranoia of war, but there had to have been laws. Somewhere.
In the first few days after his arrival, Harry was left relatively alone. Apparently, showing up skinny and beaten exempted him from the work Mrs. Weasley imposed on the others. The house needed cleaning, he heard. So, he spent his time “recovering,” away from everyone else. Food was either brought to him by Molly or appeared on his desk by magic. News of his reclusiveness and lack of interest in the comings and goings of the house seemed to have sunk in by the fifth day, because even the twins had stopped popping in unannounced, trying to startle him or get him to react in some way. Or maybe they got bored.
Sirius knocked on his door every day and asked if Harry wanted to talk. Every day, Harry responded with a dry “no.” Let him stew. The one who surprised him the most was Ron. Even though Harry counted on his best friend's loyalty, he knew Ron had a tendency to drag out cold shoulders and jealousy fits. But Harry also should have expected Ron to be there for him—to be the first to swear by him. Ron had been his first friend in the magical world, and the redhead had no problem defying authority, breaking the law, or keeping Harry’s secrets. Not once had Ron suggested Harry talk to a teacher or stayed behind when it really mattered—when no one else was willing to do what Harry had to do.
By the end of the first week, Harry had decided to venture out, if only to find a book or something to distract himself. He had spent too much time thinking about all the changes he wanted in his life moving forward, but there’s only so much thinking and planning one can do. Opening the door as quietly as possible, Harry was startled by an “Oof” and the sight of a body sprawled across the carpet outside his room. It was Ron. He had apparently dozed off leaning against the door, with half a sandwich in one hand and a bundle of letters on his lap.
Ron flushed slightly as he stood up slowly. Harry watched him, confused. A flood of questions rose in his mind, but, determined to stay committed to the changes he expected, Harry simply waited for an explanation.
“Here, I found them hidden in the kitchen,” Ron said, handing him the bundle of letters. His friend then sat down in front of him, looking expectant.
“How long have you been waiting outside?” Harry asked, the first question that slipped out before he could catch it.
“Just the last few days,” Ron answered dismissively, glancing at the letters with encouragement.
That wasn’t what Harry had expected. Even hearing “the last hour or so” would have surprised him. Looking at the envelopes, Harry saw that the letters were addressed to him, with dates going back weeks—the earliest from a month ago. ‘This proves nothing,’ Harry thought. ‘He could have written the letters recently.’ Of course, that was ridiculous. For all of Ron’s cleverness, he wouldn’t have tried to deceive him like this. The thought warmed Harry’s heart a little. Ron would never attempt to trick him; Harry was certain of that. It was carved in stone.
“I tried coding information here and there, but apparently, no matter how far apart I wrote the words, the wards wouldn’t let the letters leave the house,” Ron said. After a moment, he added, “We need to come up with a secret language or something, mate.”
And just like that, Ron won him over. How egotistical of Harry, thinking his best friend needed to prove himself to him. He should be grateful Ron wanted to stick around, especially after all the chaos Harry was about to unleash on everyone.