Let's Try That Again Redux - Ch 5

Sirius took to muggle life as Rook relatively well. Harry had his fun teasing him, so he made sure to give him actual food. No kibble or canned stuff, that would have been too much. At night Rook/Sirius would sleep nearby or at the bottom of his bed.

At those times Harry took to telling him his life story. The previous version. He was going to leave out the death and time travel. In fact, he wasn't sure who he was going to tell or if he there was anyone he trusted. Previously, he would have said Hermione, but she was an unknown factor at the moment.

He told his godfather about his life growing up. Harry had to take care to leave out some parts. He couldn't risk Sirius doing something rash to his relatives. Things with them were steadily getting better. Sirius was very interested about his years at Hogwarts.

Harry made sure to spend a lot of time telling him about Hogwarts. It was hard, talking about his 'friends' hit a sour note.  Instead, he focused on his classes. He mentioned the house rivalries, quidditch, and the classes he liked. Harry couldn't help but smile when Rook perked up at the mention of the twins' pranks.

The next week fell into an easy groove. He started running in the mornings, using Rook as an excuse. In reality, he needed to get healthier. Now that he was eating regularly, and his magic wasn't being blocked, he needed to be more in tune with his body. It helped guide the newly unlocked power coursing through him.

Morris had provided him with a treasure trove of books. Harry learned spells, solidified his ward work, began to learn rune crafting, and was able to study the history of the magical world. The last time around he hadn't given much thought to the history of the magical world. By the end of the war most of the books on it had been removed or heavily edited.

The previous night Harry had fallen asleep reading Spells for a Traveling Wizard. It was a book he would have killed to have in his previous life. He snapped awake at the sound of a bird squawking.

Harry froze, halfway to sitting, as he took in the sight before him. Hedwig was guarding the window from an owl that desperately was trying to enter the room. Every move forward was blocked either by a swift peck or a smack of the wing.

"Hedwig." Harry moved over to her. "They're just doing their job."

She turned to look at him.

"I know." Harry sighed. "It's your job, but they didn't know that."

Harry snatched a treat from the tray nearby and held it out to the owl. Hedwig gawked at him as he took the letter from the owl.

"They have had a hard morning." Harry held her gaze. "This is an urgent letter from the goblins."

Hedwig looked away, suddenly finding the backyard more interesting.

"Rook." Harry strode over to his dresser to pick out clothes for the day. "Want to go for a trip?"

The large dog hopped up. He let out a happy bark.

"We're going to Gringotts." Harry explained. "Be on your best behavior. I'd rather not start a war with them because you decided to pee on the furniture."

Rook grunted. Harry hurried to the kitchen. Dobby was hard at work at the stove. There were four plates of eggs, bacon, sausage, and some freshly made hashbrowns waiting at each spot. Another spot on the floor for Rook was set as well. Each one shimmered ever so slightly to show they were under a stasis charm.

"Dobby." Harry crossed his arms and glared at the elf. "Today is your day off."

"Yes, Harry sir." Dobby did his best not to look at the wizard. "Today I get to do what I want. Dobby wants to cook." He pointed to the stack of pancakes, waffles, and omelets on the counter nearby. "Dobby is cooking like Harry sir does, no magic. Harry sir was right, this is fun."

Harry tried, and failed, to suppress a smile. "What are you planning on doing with the leftovers?"

Dobby stopped. He looked at the stack of food. His face scrunched up.

"Dobby… will…" the elf drew the words out as he looked around the room. His bright eyes saw the letter Harry was holding. "Deliver the food to…" He squinted. "Gringotts. Yes, Dobby will deliver the food to the goblins at Gringotts."

"You're cooking breakfast for the goblins?" Harry crossed his arms.

Dobby nodded, making sure not to look anywhere near the boy. "Harry sir was not to bother Dobby on his day off."

"That is true." Harry smiled. "As it turns out, I have some business with the goblins today." He eyed the plate of food. "It looks delicious, but I don't think they'd be happy if I was late."

Dobby snapped. A freshly baked biscuit zipped over to the plate. An egg, a slice of cheese, and a few pieces of bacon slipped inside. It was nearly wrapped up in a napkin. Harry plucked the breakfast-to-go from the table and tucked the sandwich in his pocket. He had taken the time to charm all of his muggle clothes with expanding storage and small protections.

"Well, Rook." He looked to the dog. "Ready to find out where I come from?"

The dog cocked his head to the side.

"I'll explain on the way." Harry headed out to the street. "We're taking the Knight Bus. I'm not doing any sort of magical travel on an empty stomach."

Rook woofed in support.

The bus pulled up a moment later. Harry smiled at the attendant. It was the same duo as the last time.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, day service." The attendant recited. "Where are you headed?"

"Gringotts."

The driver and the attendant snapped awake once they heard his voice. It paid to be nice to people in the service industry.

"Right this way." The attendant guided him into the bus. "Anything you need? Tea, coffee, bowl of water for your companion?"

"We're fine this morning."

Harry slid into the plush seat as Rook hopped up on the other. The attendant spared a look at the dog.

"She's certain looking healthier."

"He." Harry corrected. "Under all that hair and grit, he was a boy."

"Rather handsome one too." The driver chimed in.

Rook looked over at Harry with a satisfied doggy-grin.

"Don't say that." Harry laughed. "You'll give him a big head."

Rook scoffed.

"Didn't get to introduce ourselves last time." The attendant said. "I'm Stephen Laurie and this here is Hugh Fry."

"Nice to meet you." Harry nodded to each. "This handsome devil is Rook. I'm Harry Potter."

The bus swerved.

"You're serious?" Stephen asked.

"No." Harry shook his head. "That's my godfather. I'm Harry."

Rook chuffed at the joke.

"You're really Harry Potter?" Hugh asked.

"Yes." Harry nodded. "Don't get weird about it please. Keep quiet and you're looking at a tip every ride."

The attendant stared at him for a long moment. Then he realized he was staring and looked out the window. He tried to say something a few times before he shrugged.

"Have you been staying up on the news?" Stephen asked.

They were currently stopped at a red light. The trip to London was taking longer than usual. It was the middle of the day on a work week, so it wasn't unexpected. Hugh didn't drive like a half-blind maniac, so the trip took longer than ten minutes. By car, a muggle one, it was about two hours to London. The Day Shift of the Knight Bus did it in thirty minutes, usually.

"I live with Muggles. Trying to explain everything that happens in the magical world is a headache." Harry shook his head.

Stephen nodded. "You haven't seen this then?"

The young man held out a copy of the Daily Prophet. A photo of the 'Mot in an uproar sat in the center of the page. This time the headline read 'Purebloods Outraged at DMLE Change of Approach'.

"Not sure why they are so mad. He was you-know-who's top man." Stephen continued. "They say he's the one who told him where your folks lived."

"Bullshit." Harry snorted. "Sirius Black is my godfather by magically binding contract. He'd be dead before he could touch his wand if he wanted to hurt me."

Stephen's mouth dropped. Rook slipped over to sit beside Harry.

"But…" Stephen held up the paper. "They say he killed a dozen muggles and his best friend."

"They also say I live in a castle and have three veela wives." Harry shook his head.

"He was their secret keeper." Stephen pointed to the part of the article.

"I know he didn't betray my family." Harry stated firmly.

Harry fell silent for a moment. He petted Rook as the scenery passed. A couple of people had gotten on, which had caused a slight detour and pulled Stephen away. Hugh checked his watch, then put some speed on. The bus pulled to a stop outside of Gringotts.

"Sorry about him." Hugh spoke softly.

Harry nodded. He took a step down, then turned around. Two galleons appeared in his hand.

"Nope." Hugh looked away. "Not this time."

"This isn't a tip. It's payment for services." Harry placed the coins on the dash. "Anyone who talks about Sirius Black, you tell them what I told you. Tell them Harry Potter himself gave you this information."

"You're serious?" Hugh looked from the coins to the young man.

"No." Harry chuckled. "Like I said, that's my godfather. I'm Harry."

Hugh shook his head at the bad joke. Harry winked at him.

"Keep paying me like this and I'll have my own car service." Hugh muttered as Harry stepped off the bus.

"Did you hear that?" Harry looked down at Rook as they walked. "His own car service. That would be kind of cool. Think I could hire him?" He sighed. "Actually, it would probably be too dangerous for him if I hired him as my private driver."

Rook woofed.

"I like cars." Harry replied. "They are by far the best form of transportation. Sure, it's slower than Floo or Apparation, but I don't mind. Just imagine me strapping you to my broom for a trip into town."

Rook groaned.

"Exactly."

"Lord Potter." Ragnok stepped up as he entered. He spared a small look to Rook.

"Goblin Ragnok." Harry gave a small bow.

"Follow me." The goblin turned and walked away without a look back.

Ragnok led him to the same room as before. There was a low couch that looked to be the perfect size for a certain dog. Rook gave a woof in thanks and settled in.

"You are welcome." Ragnok took his seat. "Your companion is an interesting one."

"I will take that as a compliment." Harry smiled. "We are here to discuss the results of the inheritance?"

"Indeed."

Ragnok waved a hand, summoning the golden orb. He tapped the orb twice. It levitated in the air between them before unrolling and spreading out wide. A family tree stretched out incredibly wide.

"These are all your relations." Ragnok explained. "Even by the slightest bit, going back to the beginning of your family line."

Harry's name glowed, a line reached up along the pathway, guiding his gaze to the very top. Two names pulsed.

"Chwyfleian Llyn and Myrddin Wyllt." Harry looked to Ragnok. "Apologies, Master Ragnok, those names mean nothing to me."

Ragnok smiled. "Roughly translated, Wandering Woman of the Lake and the man legend has come to call Merlin." With a wave of a hand the tree spread out from there. "It's quite a distant relation. Eventually the line crossed with Pendragon which went on to intersect with Gryffindor then eventually Peverell, as you know became Potter."

"I hit all the big ones." Harry chuckled. "Does this mean I really am the next coming of Merlin?"

Ragnok cackled. "No. Merlin had quite a few children with plenty of women along his lifetime. He is nowhere near as prolific as the muggle Genghis Khan, but he is the progenitor of at least two dozen family lines."

"It does look like I am related to Arthur." Harry muttered.

"Again." Ragnok clarified. "Not as rare as you expect. Legends rarely include the children of scullery maids, camp women, and random encounters."

Ragnok tapped the edge of the golden sheet. It curled up into an orb again. The goblin handed it to Harry.

"It is possible that the sword may have recognized your bloodline." Ragnok returned to his seat. "More likely, it recognized the quality of person you are."

Harry blinked. He looked from the golden orb to Ragnok.

"Thank you, Ragnok." Harry cleared his throat. "That means more than you know."

"Is there any other business we have to discuss today?" Ragnok inclined his head.

Harry thought for a moment. "Is there a way to get a copy of the contract my parents made with Sirius Black?"

"Their will is still sealed." Ragnok shook his head. "The process will take some time."

"Not their will." Harry slipped the orb into his pocket. "The contract making him my godfather."

"That, I can do." Ragnok smiled, displaying a row of sharp teeth.

~§~

Harry stepped into the house and waited. A moment later Petunia rushed from somewhere to gather him into a hug. He had come to learn to just let her get these out. She seemed to be trying to make up for all the years she had missed.

The previous year was when Wormtail was supposed to run back to his master. Somehow, the rat knew how to find Riddle, even though he had been a rat for more than ten years. Harry knew before the World Cup in a couple of months that Riddle would be in his fathers' mansion. It was possible that Riddle was hiding out at the mansion already.

"I have another meeting in a couple of days that I have to do on the magical side of things." Harry extricated himself from Petunia's hug.

"Thank you for telling me." Petunia stepped away to straighten up her dress. "How did Rook do out among people?"

Harry looked to find Rook curled up on Vernon's favorite chair. The two had entered into a battle over the comfy recliner. Harry smiled. Vernon tried to act angry, but Harry had caught his uncle tucking Rook in when the dog fell asleep in the chair. Now that he thought of it, the only time in his past life that Vernon seemed to perk up was when Ripper was around. The fact that his sister came with the dog was something he endured.

"I'm going to be doing some reading in my room." Harry called as he headed down the hall.

He settled onto his bed with a new spell book. With the blocks that Dumbledore put up gone, and the chunk of Riddle out of his head, he found that learning magic was so much easier. There were some things that he was re-learning, but even those just seemed to click. Unfortunately, he could feel that he wasn't as powerful as his older self, and he couldn't touch Voldermort or Dumbledore yet.

"Yet another thing I have to wait to see." Harry grumbled.

He put his book away in the trunk and stretched out on his bed. There were still a few horcrux that he needed to deal with. Now that he thought about it, this was all just the tip of the iceberg. Sure, Riddle was a priority, but the blame for the war didn't rest solely on his shoulders. Killing him early wouldn't slow things down and remove a very dangerous threat. His followers wouldn't just disappear without him guiding them. A good portion of his old life was dealing with Death Eaters that were all too happy to continue on without Riddle around.

Harry sighed. With the knowledge from his old life, he could work down a list of targets. The element of surprise would be on his side. It would be highly likely that their security wouldn't be as powerful.

"Harry Potter, sir." Dobby said in a loud voice.

Harry sat up. "Yes?"

"Dobby has been calling you." The elf tapped his foot. "Dinner is ready."

"I was lost in thought." Harry slid off the bed.

"Lost in a nap." Dobby giggled.

"That too." Harry yawned. "I have a lot on my mind."

~§~

Hedwig had finally forgiven him enough to deliver a letter. She returned less than an hour later with a reply. Her mood hadn't faded completely, which meant he had to provide her with more bacon than usual to get the letter. Hedwig had retired to her perch and, after making sure he knew she was ignoring him, settled into her daytime nap.

Currently, Harry sat in a private room waiting. Rook lounged nearby, seemingly uninterested in whatever was happening. A gentle knock at the door preceded it opening. The familiar face of Rita Skeeter stole a look into the room. Her eyes locked onto Harry before she scanned the room to see they were alone, and a wide smile crossed her face.

"Mister Potter." She beamed hurrying into the room. "I was shocked to receive your letter. Honestly, I half expected this all to be a cruel joke."

Harry sat up in his chair. One thing he had not thought about taking over his younger body were the awakening hormones. Mentally, he was an adult, but physically, his body was in the stride of puberty. He couldn't help but admire the way her iridescent green dress hugged her curves.

Rita sat down across from him. She quickly put out a quill and parchment that began to scribble.

"Rita Skeeter. Interview with Harry Potter." She stated. "May I ask you about Sirius Black and your thoughts? How do you feel about a group of Dementors being assigned to Hogwarts this past year?"

Harry held up his hand. The quill froze in place.

"Miss Skeeter."

"Rita." She cut in.

"Rita." He nodded. "I'm fine with a dicto-quill, or handwritten notes, but I'm not going to continue this interview with one of those."

Rita gave him an impish grin. "You're a clever one."

She plucked the quill and replaced it with a standard dicto-quill. "Rita Skeeter. Interview with Harry Potter. Please state your name for the record."

"Lord Harry Potter. Heir to the House of Black." Harry stated.

Rita gasped. "Do go on."

"That is the issue I wanted to discuss with you today." Harry continued. "Sirius Black is my godfather by way of magical contract. The document is simple to acquire. I have no idea why it wouldn't have been brought up as evidence. Any half-competent representation would have done so at his trial."

"Indeed." Her eyes flashed. "I don't mean to insult you, but even with the power behind your name, there are those who would question the validity."

Harry produced a parchment.

"This is a copy of the contract. I picked it up from Gringotts this morning. It states in simple terms that Sirius Black is to look after me as though I was his own son if something were to happen to my parents. Not only that, but his magic would also be stripped if he harmed me or conspired with others to do harm to me." He slid the parchment over to her. "That would make it really hard to sell my parents out to Riddle. Don't you think?"

"Riddle?" Rita asked.

"Voldemort." He clarified. "His name is Tom Riddle. He's a half-blood, you can look that up in the student records at Hogwarts."

Rita flinched at the name. "Are you certain?"

"He told me himself." Harry shrugged.

"You spoke with he-who-shall-not-be-named." Rita gasped.

"A shade of his." Harry clarified. "In my second year a diary with a powerful enchantment gave power to a sliver of his spirit. It latched onto a victim and leeched the life from them. Once he gathered enough power, he used it to release a basilisk to attack muggle-born students. Something had had done before about fifty years ago."

"You're saying that the ghost of Tom Riddle, who is the true name of…" She took a breath. "Voldemort. Summoned a basilisk and attacked the school."

"Two years ago, yes." Harry nodded. "You mean people don't know?"

Rita shook her head.

"How?" Harry stared at her. "Students were petrified. One almost died. I almost died fighting the basilisk."

"You fought a basilisk?" Rita practically yelled.

"Don't worry." Harry patted her hand. "I killed it."

"Harry. May I call you Harry?" She continued without letting him reply. "You're, what, twelve now? You want me, and the rest of Magical Britain, to believe that you not only fought and killed a basilisk, but you spoke with a specter of V… Him and lived to tell the tale?"

"I turn sixteen this year." Harry rolled up his sleeve to show the new scar.

"Oh?" Rita purred. "If I remember correctly, and I do, the last living Lord of an Ancient and Noble house can claim their full place once they turn sixteen." She looked over him like a piece of meat. "It's one of those old rules set in place to protect bloodlines in danger of dying out." Rita leaned forward, staring into his eyes. "Look me up handsome."

Harry winked at her.

"This is where the basilisk fang bit into my arm." He ran his finger along the top edge. "This is where the phoenix tears landed to fight off the venom. I'm in talks with Gringotts to harvest the basilisk. I can get a copy of paperwork for that if you'd like." He paused. "I could probably take you down there with a photographer too."

Rita stared at him. She looked at the quill furiously writing his words.

"If a portion of what you are saying is true-"

"It is." Harry sighed.

"Oh?" Rita purred. She shook off the comment and took a deep breath. "I did not expect this at all. A fluff piece about The Boy Who Lived and how he was dealing with the escape of the man who killed his parents. That's the piece I was ready to write. I come in here and not even ten minutes you've given me proof that Sirius Black might be innocent, you dropped the history of the most feared Dark Wizard of our time, and then you just happen to finish up telling me about how you killed a basilisk that was terrorizing Hogwarts. This is going to make my career. No more gossip column. Real journalism." Her eyes took on a predatory edge. "If you were a couple of years older… Mmm, the things I would do to you." She paused. "Strike that from the record."

"Don't tempt me." Harry took a deep breath.

Rita leaned back in her chair. She gave him a teasing smile as she stood.

"Leaving already?" Harry asked.

"You've given me a lot to research." Rita shot him a sultry grin.

"I trust you won't turn this into a fluff piece?" Harry met her gaze. He let a touch of his true power pulse as he spoke.

"No fluff needed, sugar. You're sweetened the pot plenty." Rita shuddered.

With one final hungry look, she fled the room. Harry chuckled. He looked over at Rook who was staring up at him. Harry tried to keep calm. He had grown so accustomed to Sirius/Rook be around that he hadn't even considered it before revealing how powerful he truly was. Even then, he didn't let it all out.

"I can show off for older women." Harry shrugged.

Rook woofed.

"Oh please." Harry shook his head. "Like you've never done anything stupid to impress a girl."

Rook let out a short series of barking laughter.

"Laugh it up, fuzzball." Harry sighed. "There's a magical pet store a few stores over that would love to give you a fancy new look. I hear they have a special where they can dye pet hair to whatever color you want. You'd look very pretty with pink fur and a poodle cut."

The dog stopped. He glared up at Harry as he let out a sound that wasn't quite a growl, or a whine but somewhere in the middle.

"You know I'm bluffing." Harry laughed. "I'd have to be seen with you."

Rook scoffed. He looked at the door once more to make sure it was locked. The shape of Rook was replaced with Sirius. He looked much healthier this time around, and even his clothes had been replaced. Sirius currently was wearing a pair of jeans and a loose T-Shirt. His beard was neatly trimmed, and his hair was a healthy shoulder-length. Sirius had taken to swapping back to his human form once the Dursley's had gone to sleep. Harry was pretty sure Dobby was helping the old dog sneak out into the muggle side of Britain as well.

"Are you looking forward to coming to Hogwarts with me?" Harry asked.

"It'll be interesting to see Hogwarts when I'm not being hunted by dementors." Sirius chuckled.

"Don't go into the forest." Harry warned. "It's infested with giant spiders."

"Right." Sirius let out a bark of a laugh.

"It's true." Harry said. "I saw them with my own eyes. They tried to eat me and Ron. We were saved at the last minute by an enchanted car." Harry stopped. "Damn that sounds weird to say."

The duo fell into an easy silence.

"I rented this room for another hour." Harry finally broke the silence. "I didn't expect her to rush out like that. They're supposed to be bringing by some food soon too."

"Why don't you tell me about your life so far." Sirius sat in the chair Rita had recently vacated. "It sounds like you left a lot out in your previous stories."

Harry cleared his throat. There was an odd lump forming in it that was making it hard to speak.

"So." He let the word out slowly. "The night my parents died I was dropped off at my aunt and uncles house. I didn't find out until I was eleven that they were killed by an evil wizard. Magic was just something in storybooks and my relatives hated it. Any time I did accidental magic I would get punished."

Sirius clenched his hands into fists.

"They're different now." Harry put a hand on Sirius' hand. "You've seen them yourself. It wasn't their fault. I found out recently that there was magic placed around the house, and on me, that made them like that. Not just them either. It was a subtle series of spells that made people focus on the negative aspects of interacting with me."

"What do you mean?" Sirius tilted his head to the side.

"A powerful wizard put them on me when I was a baby." Harry explained. "It wasn't until I claimed my Lordship that the enchantments were broken."

Sirius drummed his fingers on the table in thought. He opened his mouth to speak only for Harry to cut him off.

"It gets worse." Harry sighed. "The wizard that did it was incredibly skilled at magic that altered peoples' minds. Changing their memories, influencing their behaviors, and all that. I think that plays a part why Rita didn't know about the basilisk. There were students who were petrified, people had to know." Harry shook his head. "My relatives changed once the enchantment was broken. It was drastic too."

"That's just something I found out recently." Harry continued. "I got my Hogwarts letter. Hagrid took me to Diagon Alley. We went shopping. He bought me Hedwig as a birthday present. Hagrid is a little absentminded. He doesn't realize that most people don't find deadly animals to be cuddly. Being half-giant gives him a soft spot for creatures. He's the one who let the giant spiders loose in the forest. My first year he also put a Cerberus in the school to guard the Philosophers Stone. He also tried to hide a baby dragon in his shack." Harry chuckled.

"Why did he need to protect the Philosophers Stone?" Sirius asked.

"For some reason Dumbledore decided to put the Philosophers Stone in the school for safety. Riddle was after it to heal himself and had possessed one of his followers that managed to get a job teaching at the school. Long story short, we fought, I killed him, and the stone was safe." He paused. "I wonder if people know about that." Harry muttered. "I'll mention it to Rita the next time we talk."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Sirius asked.

"What? That's rich coming from you." Harry tried, and failed, to contain a blush. "She's a good resource if she's on my side."

Sirius stared at him.

"Fine." Harry rolled his eyes. "She's hot. Back to the story. I killed the possessed teacher, Riddle, that's the evil wizards real name, was turned back into a smoke-specter type thing and fled. No idea where he is now. I asked Dumbledore to stay at the school over summer, my relatives were still under the spell, and they were not people I wanted to be around. He said no. I went back to their place to find that my uncle had put bars on my window and locks on the outside of my door. Dobby, before he worked for me, showed up and warned me not to go back to Hogwarts."

The elf in question popped into the room.

"Harry Potter called?" Dobby asked.

"Sorry." Harry said. "I'm telling Sirius my life story and your name came up."

"Dobby tried to protect Master Harry Potter. Dobby dropped a cake on a muggle lady and then turned the doorway into stone." Dobby nodded.

"You also charmed a bludger to chase after me." Harry added.

"Dobby thought it was a good idea at the time." Dobby winced.

"I know." Harry chuckled. "You were desperate to protect me. You're an amazing friend, Dobby."

"Thank you, Harry Potter, sir. Dobby will be going back home now." Dobby smiled brightly.

"See you in a bit." Harry waved at the elf. He turned back to his godfather. "Back to the story. Turns out my elf friend was trying to protect me from his former master, Lucius Malfoy."

"We've met." Sirius growled.

"He's a piece of work, eh? " Harry smiled. "Lucy slipped an enchanted diary into a student's basket when they weren't looking. That was the one I told Rita about. It was the first horcrux that Riddle had made all the way back when he was still a student at Hogwarts. Back then he released a basilisk, just like this time, but the first time he managed to kill a student rather than just turning some to stone. He left notes around the school about 'The Heir of Slytherin'. A few days later I learned that I was a parseltongue, and guess what? Slytherin was one too. Naturally, everyone suddenly thought I was the one turning muggle-born students to stone. They seemed to forget that my mother was a muggle-born and I was good friends with one too." He stopped. "That was probably some of the spells put on me too. Not all of it. Like I said, it made people focus on the negative things." Harry shook his head. "Long story short, with some help I figured out where the basilisk was, went down, and killed it. It kind of killed me in the process, but I got better. Phoenix tears are amazing. I used the basilisk venom to destroy the horcrux and that about catches us up since you know about last year."

"That's… something." Sirius sighed.

"I know." Harry leaned back in his chair. "Saying out loud sounds crazy. Last year, you escaped, which was supposed to be impossible. Someone had the bright idea to allow Dementors around the school." Harry groaned. "It took me all of five minutes to find out that you are my godfather. Everyone knew that you were friends with my parents. Why wouldn't they check the records, you ask? My parents' will is sealed for some reason. Someone is putting a lot of effort into keeping the truth hidden. I think it's the same person who put the spells on me, or at least someone working with them."

Someone knocked on the door. Harry was up out of his seat with his wand drawn. He had pulled the chair in front of him at some point.

"Lunch service." The voice came from the other side.

"Come in." Harry took his seat but held on to his wand.