They hadn't wanted to disturb Harry's birthday, so the serious discussions were saved for a few days afterward. The birthday had been a mostly quiet affair. hosted at the Weasleys as Alabasandria wasn't fond of parties (in fact, they had a strict household limit of one a year) and had been banned from baking ages ago. Sirius had gone in disguise and had charmed Molly Weasley the whole evening without suspicion, while the kids had enjoyed the weather and a few games of Quidditch. Alabasandria was a bit peeved at the completely unnecessary gift that Sirius had gotten him - she'd said no to the Firebolt, but there it was anyway. It was ridiculous. They did not need to encourage Harry's thrill-seeking any further. Harry was pleased with it, of course, it was all he was talking about. It was clearly a ploy by Sirius to win Harry's love and convince him the dog should continue to live on their couch and Alabasandria would be having none of that.
(That Molly Weasley was also pleased with him and kept hinting at her assumption they were lovers was just - ugh.)
"Right, I'm not sure how to even begin to explain this mess, so I'll be blunt." Sitting at the Weasley's table were her, Sirius, Harry, and the Weasley parents. "I have a strong reason to suspect that Ronald's pet rat is actually an animagus in hiding." Molly went white with shock and threw herself out of her chair, running upstairs. "Ah, anyway. How familiar are you with the story of the Potter's betrayal and subsequent murder?"
She held back Sirius from attacking as Pettigrew crashed into the ground before them. Molly was livid, face as red as her hair as she yelled obscenities and accusations. Much calmer, Arthur quickly cast some warding charms and bound Pettigrew in ropes. It was obvious the man had not transformed into his human self much over the years as his body had taken on several ratlike qualities, like his elongated teeth and curled fingers. It certainly smelled like he hadn't bothered to bathe in that time, either.
"Hold yourself together," Alabasandria hissed at Sirius. "What good would cursing him do? Use your brain, damn you." Sirius was panting, teeth bared as he tried to get out of his chair to do something stupid. She wondered for a moment if the man would start barking, with how much he reverted to being dog-like when angry. With a flourish of her wand, she glued him to his chair and tried to focus on calming the frantic Weasleys. "Right, may I introduce you all to Peter Pettigrew. The Potter's real secret keeper." Peter began to babble pathetically, so she silenced him and began to tell a much-abridged rendition of events. Sirius removed his glamor but was staring at Peter whilst playing with a bread knife between his fingers in a way that did little to inspire the Weasleys of his innocence.
At the end of the explanation, Arthur had his head in his hands and Molly was pacing a hole in the floor, her piercing eyes flickering between Sirius and Pettigrew. The both of whom were making some of the most uncomfortable eye contact ever witnessed. Sirius may have decided that Harry was more important than his revenge, but that didn't mean the man wasn't also going to make it clear he was absolutely willing to murder the ever-loving shit out of Peter if given the chance, whereas Peter just looked like he might piss himself from Sirius' manic expression. Meanwhile, Harry had grown bored and was eating his way through an entire tin of biscuits, completely unconcerned and wishing he could be out on his broom instead of suffering through the adult stuff. The tense silence was broken by Harry loudly asking Sirius to pass him the plate of chocolate eclairs.
...
Harry really liked Grimmauld Place. It was the ultimate location for a secret lair. He'd always wanted a secret lair, but mama wouldn't let him, as apparently they were for amateurs. The house was perfect - full of ornate Victorian furniture, formal sitting rooms, gold-trimmed parlor rooms, haunted portraits, and a massive library with very interesting and illegal titles. Sirius, who was clearly very uncomfortable in the house, had immediately agreed to let Harry make any changes he liked. Until he realized these included a moat full of lava, a room full of bats, and all sorts of traps and pits of spikes.
"What for? What for? Sirius, how else are we supposed to keep out the adventurers and where are we supposed to run our secret experiments? I need a room where I can cackle ominously to my minions. We need a moat, trust me." Most of the ideas Harry had about evil villainy came from cartoons, which was probably the only reason he hadn't become a megalomaniac.
"Alright, I'll tell you what, kiddo. When I get freed, and I can live somewhere else, I'll let you have this place, and you can put a moat up. Hell, burn it down with fiendfyre for all I care."
The reminder that Sirius was moving out made Harry cross his arms and like Grimmauld a bit less.
"I don't understand why you live here now, how come you can't live with us any longer? Can't you come with us to Hogwarts disguised as Padfoot or something?"
"That is a great idea, but your mum and I have decided that I need my own space. Not that I won't visit you every day until you leave, of course. And maybe on a Hogsmeade weekend you can pop over to visit." They were interrupted by shouting from the other room.
"I cannot believe this luck, Hades blesses us! Harry, come look at what I found." Alabasandria, who had been exploring the house, came rushing over to the two, a gaudy necklace in her grasp. Immediately, Harry felt his necromancer Spidey-sense burst into action.
"Seriously? Another one?" He complained. "How many did he make?"
"Er, what are we looking at?" Sirius asked, reaching out to touch it. Alabasandria swatted his hand away.
"It's a piece of Voldemort's soul. It's how he's staying alive despite Harry's repeated attempts at murder." They quickly filled him in on the whole affair. Sirius was horrified. How long had that thing been in his house? Had his mother known? Had Regulus?
"Are we gonna destroy it, mama?"
"No, I'm going to keep it. We don't know how many he has, I can use this to try to uncover information about any others. It's not as strong as the diary was, I doubt it could produce a corporeal form, but it still contains a fraction of Voldemort's soul and mind, so it should know something ."
"We have to find them all!" Sirius said frantically.
"That's why I'm taking the job at Hogwarts," she explained to him. "Dumbledore knows something, I'm sure of it. Voldemort made at least one horcrux while still a student, I'm going to follow his trail."
"I want to help," Sirius demanded. He didn't know how, but he needed to help. This was the key, staring right in front of him. They could kill Voldemort and Harry would be safe. Lily and James avenged. Sirius felt emboldened. He had a purpose again. "I'm going with you to Hogwarts, I'm going to help."
"It's an incredibly dangerous idea to bring you to Hogwarts. And for you to truly be helpful, you'll have to learn some necromancy." Alabasandria gave him a heated look. He shot her a manic grin, one he'd perfected in Azkaban. Yes, Sirius had lost a lot in the war. He'd lost everything, including himself. But now? For the first time, he had something. Harry. Family. Purpose. Vengeance.
"I'll do whatever it takes."
....
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