The only good thing was Harry remained away from Privet Drive with the Dursleys and therefore hidden. Albus could go to the Ministry and protest the guardianship but that would expose the level of his interest in Harry and provoke questions he did not want to answer. No; it was best to deal with Sirius directly and come to some agreement before Sirius returned to take actual custody of Harry.
Which meant approaching Remus Lupin or Brian Cutter, the solicitor mentioned in the Prophet, for information on Sirius's whereabouts.
Both were difficult but Albus perhaps had a little more leverage with Remus – the former Professor did owe him for allowing him to come to Hogwarts as a student and for employing him for a year. He picked up some parchment and began a letter.
o-O-o
Time Bubble: August 9th 1994
Harry heard the crunch of footsteps coming up the mountain path and hurriedly wiped his eyes with the backs of his hands. He wasn't surprised that someone had followed him – he had run off abruptly in the middle of his mind healing session – but he really, really, wanted to be alone. As much as he'd hated his life with the Dursleys, he'd sometimes enjoyed the solitude they'd effectively gifted him with his many chores and general dislike of his presence, and he rarely had that kind of solitude at the clinic between the treatments, lessons, and living with Sirius.
It seemed stupid to resent the lack of solitude when he'd gained so much more – someone who did seem to care about him, love him even. Sirius had been nothing but endlessly patient with Harry during the past month. Harry's magic was under control again and he knew he'd learned more than the first time through his lessons at Hogwarts, they'd even begun some fourth year material. Then there was the duelling Sirius had added to the curriculum which was just wicked and Harry had quickly fallen in love with Runes too. Sirius was as a good a teacher as Remus.
It hadn't all been work though; Blackhawk – or Noshi as he insisted on being called – had introduced him to his grandchildren as promised. Kimi was fourteen and enjoyed Quidditch – she reminded him of the Gryffindor Chaser girls. Huritt was fifteen, quiet and studious but he had a wicked sense of humour. They were both loads of fun and they spent every Saturday afternoon flying or playing games or exploring the hiking trails with Harry. Neither of them seemed overawed by his whole Boy Who Lived thing and he hoped he had made two new friends. Still, he missed Hermione and Ron. He missed being able to write to them and to hear their replies. Healer Fay had suggested he write a journal of his time at the clinic to give to them when he returned. He'd felt a bit stupid the first couple of times but it did help. He figured Hermione would read it but he doubted Ron would be interested.
He began to realise that although he'd heard the crunch of steps, no-one had actually approached him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the familiar animagus form of his godfather sitting by the pathway with a rucksack at his paws, obviously guarding him but otherwise leaving him alone with his thoughts. He felt a surge of affection and cleared his throat.
"It's OK, Padfoot," Harry said softly, "you can come sit with me."
Padfoot responded eagerly, picking up the rucksack in his mouth and jogging up to Harry quickly and dropping the rucksack at his feet. He pushed his head against Harry's chest and Harry patted the Grim. "I'm sorry, Padfoot, but I think I need to talk with Sirius."
Padfoot hustled back a bit and transformed. Harry reached out for a hug and Sirius immediately gathered him up. It didn't occur to Harry that it was the first time he had eschewed the dog for the man, or that it was the first hug that he had initiated – he just savoured the security of knowing Sirius cared about him.
Sirius ruffled his hair. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"No?" Harry murmured. He sighed and shuffled back from his godfather. "I didn't blow anything up, did I?"
"Nope," Sirius assured him, snagging the rucksack and opening it to get to a water bottle he handed to Harry, "you controlled yourself wonderfully and nothing blew up. Well, maybe a small ornament, but Healer Fay said it was hideous and deserved to die."
Harry grimaced but given how powerful his magic truly was, an ornament blowing up was minor. He sipped his water and stared out at the view of the Valley. He could see for miles. "Did Healer Fay tell you…"
"No," Sirius opened another water bottle and took a large gulp. He gestured with it. "All your mind healing sessions are confidential, Harry."
He sighed and rubbed his nose as he considered how to tell Sirius what he had realised. "I was telling her about overhearing the Professors talk about you in Hogsmeade." He shifted on the uncomfortable ground and plucked at a blade of glass. "I don't know why I didn't put it together before but Hagrid met you at Godric's Hollow and took me because he had orders from Dumbledore. He was the one who left me with my aunt, wasn't he? Dumbledore, I mean. But Hagrid too! He delivered me like a parcel! WHY?"
A sharp gust of wind around them had Sirius placing a hand on his arm.
"Take a breath, Harry."
Harry could feel his magic straining to get loose as his emotions tumbled out of control, and he hurriedly did as Sirius asked. He closed his eyes and did his breathing exercises, wrestling his emotions back and slowly nudging his magic back into dormancy.
"I'll tell you what I know." Sirius promised. "Hagrid was already there when I got to your parents' house. I was a mess as soon as…as soon as I saw your Dad." Tears shone in his eyes. "I took you from Hagrid for a while – you were crying and bloody and I tried to heal you. But Hagrid told me that he had orders to get you to Dumbledore so that they could take you to your aunt's." He collected himself. "I protested quite vehemently but Hagrid wouldn't be moved; he had his orders. Then I made a decision which is the biggest regret of my life, Harry, and I let Hagrid take you."
Harry bit his lower lip but held Sirius's gaze.
"I knew you see that your Mum had placed wards around your aunt's place to protect her from the Death Eaters – your aunt was clueless about them – hadn't talked to your Mum in ages. But on the face of it, stowing you with her for a little while until all the immediate fervour died down seemed like a good idea." Sirius motioned again with his bottle. "And admittedly I was pleased I would be free to go after Peter. I was very stupid and should have insisted on going with Hagrid and looking after you myself."
"I'm not mad at you, Sirius," Harry reassured him, "I mean I was a little bit at the end of term but you've more than…what I mean is…"
"I'm making up for it now?" Sirius suggested as Harry struggled to put his feelings and thoughts into words.
"Yes." Harry confirmed with a sigh of relief.
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