The Grim (Death XIII)
When the quartet were finally allowed to leave the hospital wing, it was noon the next day. They’d just arrived at the great hall for lunch where they found the entire student populace abuzz.
“What’s going on?” Harry asked as he sat down at the Gryffindor table.
Seamus, Dean, and Michael looked up from their discussion with expressions that could only be described as one still getting over a nasty shock.
“Lupin’s leaving!” Seamus exclaimed.
Well that explained it.
“What do you mean he’s leaving?” Harry asked, shocked.
“Exactly that. Apparently, Lupin put in his resignation last night. It’s all anyone has talked about since Dumbledore announced it this morning,” Dean explained.
“But, why?” Ron asked, dumbfounded.
Seamus and Dean immediately turned to Michael as if the Ravenclaw knew all the answers (though if the rumors about an underground Ravenclaw information network were anything to go by, that might actually be the case). Michael only shrugged.
“Dunno for sure. There’s a lot of speculation going on. The most outrageous is between Anthony and Ernie. The two idiots are fighting each other with Anthony saying Lupin’s been sacked because he’s actually a werewolf while Ernie says he’s just leaving because he’s a vampire and he’s had enough of the weather round here.”
The boys scoffed in disbelief but Hermione furrowed her brow, as if she was trying to solve a puzzle but some of the pieces still didn’t fit right.
“Honestly, the most believable explanation so far is that his health’s taken a turn for the worse. I mean, the man has been taking off a few days every month to recover and every time he comes back he looks even worse than before he left!”
“Yesh, poor guy. I hope they’ll be able to find a cure for him soon,” Seth said sympathetically.
Michael nodded. “Yeah, me too.”
“Wonder what kind of professor we’ll get next,” Seamus grumbled.
“Maybe we’ll actually have a werewolf or vampire for a professor. Would certainly make things more interesting,” Dean said hopefully.
“Let’s go talk to Lupin before he leaves,” Harry suggested to the others.
Hermione, Seth, and Ron agreed so the quartet beat a hasty retreat out of the Great Hall though Seth did stop by where the twins were plotting with Lee and a few sixth year Ravenclaws and Slytherins.
He tugged the twins close so he could speak quietly to them. “Hey, uh, just so you know, it was the worst possible theory with Scabbers.”
Fred and George looked at him in shock.
“Who?” Fred quietly demanded.
“Best I’m gonna give you is that it’s a guy and well, you’ll probably wanna talk to your dad about it. It’ll be in the news soon enough.”
George nodded. “Alright, we will.”
“Don’t tell Ginny and tell Ron not to tell her either,” Fred warned.
“And we’ll also tell Percy once we’ve talked to dad if only to get him off Ron’s case,” George added.
“Prat still likes to lecture us all about what happened to Scabbers as if he didn’t live in the same dorm as well,” Fred grumbled bitterly.
“Anyways, thanks for telling us, Seth,” George said sincerely.
“Course. What are co-conspirators for?” Seth said.
The twins grinned and shook hands with him to make it seem like they’d just completed a business deal. Seth then ran off to catch up with the others who were waiting for him by the Great Hall entrance.
“What were you talking to Fred and George for?” Ron asked.
“Just giving them a heads up about a certain rat so they won’t be blindsided by the news tomorrow. By the way, they said not to tell your sister.”
“I won’t. She absolutely does not need to know,” Ron agreed with a shudder.
The quartet made their way to the DADA classroom where they found Lupin in the midst of putting away his tattered clothes into his trunk. The rest of his things were already packed for delivery.
Lupin looked up and was unsurprised to see them. “Oh! Hello you four. I assume you’ve heard the news by now.”
“Why are you leaving? You weren’t really fired, were you?” Harry asked.
“Oh heavens no. I chose to resign,” Lupin assured.
Harry was confused. “But, why?”
“I need to help Sirius reintegrate into society. He’s been locked away for over a decade after all. He’s going to need support which he unfortunately doesn’t have much of it,” Lupin explained, “In fact, I’m hoping to get back to London before his trial’s over.”
“Will he be okay? The Ministry’s not going to throw him back into Azkaban are they?” Harry anxiously fretted.
“Don’t worry, Harry. With Peter in Ministry custody, the trial is more of a formality to discover and report the truth of what happened that day. Besides, as long as Amelia Bones presides over the Magical Law Enforcement Department, no more injustices will be committed under her watch.”
Harry breathed out a sigh of relief. “That’s good to know.”
“Are you sure you can’t still teach though?” Ron asked, “Black can join you at Hogwarts, can’t he? As some kind of assistant? Please, you’re the best DADA professor we’ve ever had!”
“Though that wasn’t really a high bar to clear to be honest,” Seth muttered to Hermione who giggled.
Lupin smiled in amusement. “While I’m flattered you all think I’m such a great professor, you know why I can’t stay. Just because it’ll be proven that Sirius is innocent doesn’t mean that parents will enjoy the fact that a convicted criminal is in the same place as their children.”
“But that’s not the only reason, is it, professor?” Hermione hesitantly said, “Your…‘illness’ is another one right?”
The way she emphasized the word ‘illness’ made Harry and Ron confused.
Lupin gave a resigned smile. “What do you think?”
“I think,” she carefully worded her answer, “I can see why you want to leave but, I believe that no one here would care what you are.”
“No one here may care but again, their parents would. Once it gets out, even the Ministry would demand for me to be sacked.”
“What are you talking about, professor? Why would the Ministry get involved?” Harry asked in concern.
Lupin sighed. “Well, I suppose you’ll find out eventually anyways so I might as well tell you now.” He took in a deep breath as if to psych himself up. The quartet waited for him to speak and with great effort he confessed, “I’m a werewolf.”
Everyone looked at him in surprise.
“A what?!” “No bloody way!” Harry and Ron shouted at the same time.
Hermione nodded to herself as if she finally solved a puzzle that had refused to be solved. “Everything makes sense now. Your monthly disappearances were during full moons, the boggart wasn’t actually a crystal ball but the moon, the potions Professor Snape always gives you must’ve been wolfsbane potions, even your school nickname is Moony!”
Seth nodded along in agreement, having also suspected something was up but found it wasn’t any of his business so there was no need to linger on the mystery of it. “Looks like Anthony will be happy to know that he’s right, not that I would tell him anyway.”
“You know, you’d make a rather good detective, Hermione,” Lupin complimented.
“Thank you, professor,” Hermione bashfully said.
Ron groaned. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it before and I’m the one who grew up with this stuff!”
“It’s okay, Ron. You were busy with everything going with Scabbers, er, Pettigrew so, um, yeah,” Hermione said.
Ron grimaced at that unfortunate reminder. “Let’s just pretend we never learned that my pet rat was actually an animagus and that he’s just off enjoying the big cheese in the sky.”
“Probably for the best,” Seth said, patting him on the back.
“But I still don’t understand why you’d be chased out of the school if people found out you were a werewolf, professor?” Harry asked.
“You can all call me Remus now, I’m not your professor anymore,” Lupin said, “And as for your question, Harry, I don’t think we need to get into the politics around that right now but I can tell you later.”
Harry frowned. “I suppose…”
Lupin patted him on the back. “Cheer up, Harry. You’ve got a lot to look forward to this summer and it’s not as if I’m disappearing from your life for good. You’ll need me to help keep Sirius in check and I need to make sure he doesn’t tell you any fibs about the mischief he and your dad used to get up to.”
Harry immediately perked up. “You’re right. I guess I’ll see you later then, er, Remus?”
“I guarantee it,” Lupin said.
The two shared a hug that’s broken when someone knocked on the door. It was Headmaster Dumbledore and he didn’t look surprised to see any of them there.
“Your carriage is here, Remus,” Dumbledore said.
“Thank you, Headmaster.” Lupin nodded to Harry. “I’ll see you soon, Harry.” To the others, he said, “It’s been an honor to teach you all and feel free to visit Sirius’ house for the summer once we’ve got in order. I’ll send an owl.”
He picked up his trunk and left the office. The quartet also went to leave as well when-
“Before you go, Harry, I wanted to give you an advance warning that you’ll be quite the busy bee come tomorrow,” Dumbledore said.
“Why’s that, Headmaster?”
“Well, once Sirius Black’s innocence has been officially proclaimed, the legal process of reintegrating him into society and placing you under his care will begin. You’ll be visited by a few Ministry officials under my supervision to ensure the process is completed as smoothly and quickly as possible. I’m sure you’d like to move in with Mister Black as soon as you could?”
Harry nodded eagerly. “Yes, sir. Very much.”
“Good, good,” Dumbledore nodded and smiled, “Now carry on and enjoy the fantastic weather outside. I’m afraid once the legal process begins, you’ll be holed up in my office quite often until the last day of school.”
“Thank you, Headmaster!” Harry beamed.
Dumbledore chuckled. “There’s no need to thank me. I’m simply happy an unknown wrong can finally be made right.”
Harry, Ron, and Hermione went to leave but Seth hung back. “I’ll catch up. I just need to ask Dumbledore something.”
The three nodded before leaving the office. Seth turned to face Dumbledore who was looking at him curiously.
“So an interesting thing happened yesterday afternoon,” Seth casually began, “I ran into Professor Trelawney and she was acting pretty strange.”
“I would assume you mean stranger than usual?” Dumbledore asked with a knowing twinkle in his eye.
“Yeah. It seems she got a vision or maybe even a prophecy and she told me that it was alright to ask for advice from those older and wiser than her.”
“Did she now? And?”
“What does it mean when she says I’m someone who can ‘break the chains of fate tying two souls together’?”
Dumbledore looked thoughtful as if he knew exactly what Seth was talking about. But instead of answering, he asked, “Are you sure you would like to know?”
Seth opened his mouth as if to say ‘yes’ but he hesitated. Did he want to know? Did he want to get involved in what seemed like another large overarching plot of grand designs that could get people hurt at best and killed at worst?
Dumbledore smiled understandingly at him. “You may take your time to think about it. Once you have your answer, just send me an owl.”
Seth nodded, not trusting himself to speak, and left the office.
The next day, Hogwarts was filled with an uproar after the morning owls arrived with the Daily Prophet boldly proclaiming the headline ‘SIRIUS BLACK INNOCENT! PETER PETTIGREW FOUND ALIVE!’
A cacophony of noise swept through the Great Hall as the news spread like wildfire.
“HA! I KNEW IT!” Susan shouted. Everyone looked over at her where she was at the Slytherin table. She was standing up and pointing at Theo, Daphne, and Hannah in triumph. “I told you! His imprisonment was a farce from start to finish just like my aunt said! There wasn’t even a trial!”
And if one were paying attention to the Ravenclaw table, they would see a scowling Blaise pass over what looked to be a handful of galleons to a dreamily smiling Luna and a smugly smirking Ginny.
Meanwhile, Percy was giving a little speech about how “When I get into the Ministry, I’ll have a lot of proposals to make about magical law enforcement and the judicial process to make sure such a miscarriage of justice never happens again!”
Penelope nodded eagerly along while Fred and George rolled their eyes but otherwise let him have his little spiel. They’d gotten a letter from their dad last night telling the boys all the nitty and gritty details considering Ron had been directly involved in the incident. This included the fact that Pettigrew was an animagus who became their pet rat Scabbers.
Percy had gone very pale and looked as if he was going to throw up but still found the ability to apologize to Ron about the grief he gave him when Scabbers was thought to be dead before retiring for the rest of the night.
Harry was grinning widely as he watched the photo of Sirius cheerfully skipping up and down the staircase leading to the Ministry as a free man. He looked like an entirely different person dressed in clean robes and with his hair washed and groomed.
“Congratulations Potter.”
Harry looked up to see Draco standing beside him with his gaze fixed on Sirius.
“Oh, er, thanks Malfoy,” Harry awkwardly said, “And, uh, it seems you were right, about Sirius.”
Draco rolled his eyes. “Of course I was right. It’s beneath me to lie about something as serious as this.” He glared sharply at a snickering Seth. “And no, I was not making a pun so shut up already, Sorenson.”
“Can you just get to the point of why you’re here already, Malfoy? Or was congratulating Harry all you wanted?” Ron grumpily said, the sight of the Slytherin putting a damper on his mood. Truce or not, he still didn’t like the other enough to be anything but passingly civil with him.
Draco sneered at him. “Shut up, Weasley.” He turned back to Harry and cleared his throat. Then he spoke with clear effort and a grimace, “I wanted to request that you relay a message to cousin Sirius from mother. She wants him to know that he still has family to support him if he ever needs it.”
Seth looked at him in amusement. “How much did it hurt you to say all that?”
Draco sent him a withering glare that only made him fall into a laughing fit.
“Thanks for telling me, Malfoy. But,” Harry gave him an understanding smile that straddled the line between civil and friendly, “You can tell him yourself once all the legal stuff’s done.”
“Oh,” Draco dumbly said, “Well, I’ll be sure to tell mother that. Er, congratulations again, Potter.”
Then he left without another word but those who were keen eyed could see the tips of his ears burning red.
Ron blinked, bewildered. “Did that just happen?”
“Yes, it did,” Seth nonchalantly said, “Now you better eat before breakfast is over or else we’ll be stuck hearing you complain about how hungry you are until lunch.”
Ron scowled at him but started shoveling his breakfast into his mouth at record speed.
As the end of the term quickly approached, theories were thrown about on what had led to Sirius Black’s exoneration and the discovery of Peter Pettigrew being alive. The quartet listened in growing amusement at the speculations being tossed about but never said a word. For now, no one would know the truth of what happened that night except them, Snape, Lupin, and Dumbledore.
Harry was indeed as busy as Dumbledore predicted. He was called away at least twice per day to the Headmaster’s office to speak to all sorts of different Ministry officials from all sorts of departments to the point where names and faces all began to blur together. But he answered all questions and let them do all sorts of tests, under Dumbledore’s scrutinizing supervision, without complaint because he knew it would all be worth it in the end.
He did wonder what they could possibly need some of his blood for though. He watched in confusion when drops of it were put onto a bunch of parchment with some spells cast on them immediately after. There was a bunch of Latin and legalese written on there as well that made his head spin but he didn’t question it when Dumbledore stressed how important the documents were in connecting him and Sirius together as family. He just chalked it up to Wizarding World stuff he’ll just never understand.
Exam results came out on the last day of term. The quartet had passed every subject with Hermione once again at the top spot for their year with Seth not too far behind her. Harry was just amazed he managed to score decently in potions and made sure to thank Snape for his tutelage. Snape merely smiled at him and said things would get much harder from here on out much to Harry’s trepidation.
Gryffindor House also won the House Championship for the third year running, mostly due to the fact that they won the Quidditch Cup.
Thus the end of term feast took place amid decorations of scarlet and gold with the Gryffindor table the noisiest of the lot as everybody celebrated the end of another year.
As the Hogwarts Express pulled out of the station the next morning, Seth offered Harry and Ron a proposal that was a long time coming.
“I’d like to invite you guys over to my home in the states during the summer. You don’t have to stay there too long, maybe just a couple of weeks would be fine. It’ll make it easier to explain all the weird stuff I’ve done these past few years.”
“Hold on. Why just me and Ron? What about Hermione?” Harry asked, confused. Then in realization, “Unless-”
“Yes. Seth already told me everything when I went to visit him last summer,” Hermione responded, “And no, I’m not going to tell you anything because it’s his story to tell and you wouldn’t believe me anyways even if I told you.”
“But, you will tell us everything, right? Like what happened with Norbert and that dragon back in first year?” Harry pressed.
Seth nodded. “Yeah.”
“And whatever you did to get the dementors to obey you which was really weird and you’re not actually a dark wizard are you?” Ron anxiously asked.
“Yes and no, absolutely not,” Seth answered, looking slightly offended by that last part.
Ron just shrugged sheepishly. “Just had to ask.”
Seth sighed. “Yeah I know.”
“And you’ll also tell us about those weird powers being an American gave you too?” Harry continued.
“Uh, that was just a general excuse and not actually true…”
“Oh…”
“I’m sure mum and dad will let me spend part of the summer in America so long as I’m back home for the Quidditch World Cup,” Ron jumped back in to break the awkwardness that began to settle, “That’s happening August this year and you all should come stay at the Burrow then. We’ll go and see it since dad can get tickets from work!”
“Sounds good to me,” Seth agreed, “I wonder if it’ll get as dumb and violent as American football games do.”
Ron looked offended by the blasphemy coming out of his mouth but before he could go on another ‘Quidditch is amazing and you just don’t know it’ spiel, Hermione quickly interjected, “That sounds like a great plan, Ron!”
Ron puffed up a bit at her praise.
“I can come to the states after my birthday,” Harry said, “I want to spend it with Sirius if I can. Dunno when I’ll be able to move in with him yet so I’ll be at the Dursleys until then.”
Seth made a face at that. “Or you could just come back to the states with me today and we can help you get back to Britain when you need to.”
Harry shook his head though he was grateful for the offer. “It’s fine. I wanna be nearby and ready to go as soon as I hear from Sirius.”
Seth sighed in defeat. “Oh alright. So July at the states and August at Ron’s?”
Harry and Hermione both nodded in agreement.
Ron beamed and began to bounce in his seat with excitement. “Once I fix it up with mum and dad, I’ll call you. I know how to use a fellytone now!”
“A telephone, Ron,” Hermione corrected with exasperated disappointment, “Honestly, you should take Muggle Studies next year!”
Ron ignored her and pulled out his Exploding Snap deck as a distraction. They played several games and when the witch with the trolley arrived, they all got a large lunch that they shared amongst themselves.
It was late in the afternoon when Hermione suddenly peered over Harry’s shoulder and asked, “Harry, what’s that thing outside your window?”
Harry turned to look outside and saw something very small and gray bobbing in and out of sight through the glass. He peered closer for a better look and saw the blob was a tiny gray owl carrying a letter twice its size. It was tumbling over in the air and flapping desperately to keep up with the train.
Harry quickly pulled down the window and reached out to grab it. It felt like a very soft and fluffy snitch in his hand. He brought it carefully inside and the owl dropped its letter onto Harry’s seat before zooming around the compartment looking very pleased with itself for accomplishing its task. Hedwig clicked her beak with dignified disapproval while Kendra the Owl slipped out of her cage to join in.
Crookshanks sat up in his seat, following the owl closely with his eyes. Ron noticed this and snatched the owl out of harm’s way.
Harry eagerly picked up the letter and ripped it open. “It’s from Sirius!”
“What’s it say?” Ron asked.
“Read it aloud!” Hermione eagerly said.
Dear Harry,
I hope this finds you before the train arrives at King’s Cross. I forgot to tell you this but it was I who sent you the Firebolt.
“Ha! See! I told you it was from him,” Hermione triumphantly exclaimed.
Ron rolled his eyes. “Yeah but he didn’t jinx it now did he?”
Hermione scowled as the tiny owl hooted happily in Ron’s hand. Seth shushed them so Harry could continue reading.
Crookshanks took the order to the owl office for me. I used your name but told them to take the gold from my personal vault. Cheers for Gringott’s confidentiality making sure the manufacturer didn’t cancel the order since they didn’t know I was paying for it. Please consider it as thirteen birthdays worth of presents from your godfather.
I would also like to apologize for the fright I gave you that night last year when you left your uncle’s house. I only hoped to get a glimpse of you before starting my journey to Hogwarts but I ended up alarming you with the sight of me instead.
In addition, I am enclosing something else for you which I think will make your next year at Hogwarts more enjoyable. I know I could’ve given it to you anytime this summer but I felt it would be nice for you to have it now so you can send it out as soon as possible.
With much mischief,
Sirius
Harry looked inside the envelope and saw there was another piece of parchment in there. He read through it quickly and suddenly felt as warm and content as though he’d swallowed a bottle of butterbeer in one go.
I, Sirius Black, Harry Potter’s godfather, hereby give him permission to visit Hogsmeade on weekends.
“That’ll be good enough for McGonagall,” Harry said. He looked back at the letter. “Hang on, there’s more.”
PS - I thought your friend Ron might like to keep the owl as it’s my fault he no longer has a rat.
Ron’s eyes widened. “Keep him?” He eyed the tiny owl who was hooting excitedly with uncertainty. Then to everyone’s surprise, he held the owl out for Crookshanks to sniff. “What d’you reckon? Definitely an owl?”
Crookshanks purred.
“Good enough for me! He’s mine!”
PPS - I have a little surprise waiting for you at King’s Cross that I hope you’ll enjoy.
“What do you think he means by that?” Hermione asked curiously.
“Good question. Maybe another Firebolt?” Seth jokingly suggested.
“Oh ha ha,” Harry dryly said, “The one I’ve got is good enough for me, thanks.”
“If you don’t want it, I’ll take it!” Ron jokingly, but also seriously, said.
The quartet laughed and spent the rest of the ride all the way back to King’s Cross Station in high spirits.
As they stepped back through the barrier of Platform Nine and Three Quarters, Harry spotted Uncle Vernon immediately. He was standing a good distance from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, who were speaking excitedly with Mr. Granger and Kendra, and eyeing them all suspiciously. When Mrs. Weasley hugged Harry in greeting, it seemed his worst suspicions about them were confirmed.
“I’ll call about the World Cup!” Ron shouted.
“And I’ll call about the states!” Seth added.
Harry waved goodbye as his friends left with their families. He then wheeled his trolley towards Uncle Vernon who greeted him in his usual rude fashion.
“Took you long enough, boy. Now hurry up. I don’t want to be stuck in traffic because of you.” He then spotted the envelope in Harry’s hand and snarled. “That better not be another form for me to sign.”
“It’s not! It’s a letter from my godfather,” Harry cheerfully said.
Uncle Vernon sputtered. “Godfather?! You don’t have a godfather!”
“Sure he does! And it’s me!”
Harry whirled around and stared in slack jawed shock when he saw Sirius standing right behind him looking very out of breath as if he’d sprinted all the way over.
“Sorry I’m late! Got stuck in a bit of traffic and had to leave Moony behind to park if I wanted to get to you in time.”
“Does this mean?” Harry asked with growing hope.
Sirius beamed. “Yup! Legal bullshit’s all done and over with so you can move in with me today!” He did some jazz hands to add pizazz. “Surprise!”
Harry leapt at him for a hug that Sirius accepted and returned with equal enthusiasm.
“Oof! Careful there, Harry. You’ve still got more weight on than me.”
Harry just wrapped his arms around him tighter, already feeling the difference between now and the skin and bones Sirius was before.
“Who the hell are you?!” Uncle Vernon shouted.
Sirius grinned and held his hand out for a shake. “I’m Sirius Black, James and Lily’s best friend and Harry’s godfather.”
Uncle Vernon eyed the offered hand in disgust. “If you’re the boy’s godfather, then where the hell have you been these past 13 years? Why didn’t you take that boy away sooner?”
Sirius’ grin turned predatory as he took his hand back. “Well you see, I was kind of sort of thrown into wizarding prison for a mass murder that I didn’t commit while trying to actually commit a murder. And now that I’m exonerated and all that, I’m happy to take Harry off your hands though I can certainly understand if you want him around seeing how much you seem to care about him.”
Uncle Vernon paled in horror. “No, no! You can take the boy with you. And don’t even think of stopping by my house for the rest of your things, boy. I’ll throw them straight into the trash, you hear!”
“Go ahead. I’ve got everything I need right here anyways,” Harry easily agreed, patting his trunk with a smile.
Uncle Vernon sputtered again before storming off with a huff. Sirius slung his arm around Harry and pulled him close.
“Alright Harry, let’s get going now shall we?”
Harry beamed. “We shall!”
And with that, Harry set off with Sirius towards the station exit for a much better summer than the last.
Seth sat at his desk in his room back at Fablehaven. He was staring down at a blank piece of paper, tapping the end of his pen anxiously against the wood of his desk. Finally, he stopped the tapping and wrote something on the paper.
I’m ready.
He folded up the paper and handed it to Kendra the Owl. “Take this to Dumbledore.”
Kendra the Owl hooted and ruffled her wings. She took flight and glided out his window like a shadow. He watched as she gradually disappeared from sight, blending into the night sky lit only by the stars as the moon began a new cycle.