Harry Potter: Eclipse.-Chapter 86:

Albus couldn't believe what he was hearing. How had it come to this? The brat was supposed to be malleable, to be a clone of his useless father, a perfect soldier for the Light, ready to do his bidding and die.

How had his carefully laid plans failed? Clearly some of his magical blocks had come unbound, but surely some still held? He didn't feel an overwhelming power from the child and he doubted he was skilled enough to mask his magic at the age of twelve.

How the trial had gone so wrong he would never know. And Sirius—how dare he be freed! Albus had worked so hard to ensure he was locked away. Getting him sent straight to Azkaban without a trial hadn't been easy and it had taken a lot of skill to hide the fact for a decade. How Harry had found out he didn't know and he wanted to. Being in the dark wasn't right - he needed answers! The boy was destroying years of work, turing his own people against him; even Severus, a man he had depended on hating Harry, was supporting the brat!

He would have to work harder next year to regain his influence on the boy. Perhaps he would benefit from having a younger female friend? Ronald had failed miserably but Ginevra, she had potential. Yes, she would be perfect....

4th August 1992

After the trial yesterday, the three of them had returned to Grimmauld Place happy with the result. Sirius even asked Kreacher to make a cake in celebration of the result, which the house-elf did, albeit reluctantly.

"You know this is only a temporary victory, right? He won't stop," Harry warned the two men, who were happily toasting to the result.

Sirius sighed and sat down. "I know, but I want to celebrate this little victory. We have some breathing room for now - he's officially locked out of your accounts and he has no power over you other than being your Headmaster."

Harry nodded. He was reluctant to celebrate yet as he knew how tricky the man could be. He would have contingency plans, Harry would bet his magic on it. Eventually leaving the men to their alcohol, he made his way upstairs.

~

With the custody trial over with, the only thing left to do was attend Pettigrew's trial, which was scheduled for tomorrow. However, Sirius was reluctant to go, let alone allow Harry to attend.

"But don't you want to see justice being done?" Harry asked. He wanted to watch Peter be sent down. He had plans for that rat which involved Pettigrew's lips and those of a starving dementor.

"Yes, but Harry, I don't want you there! That spineless coward is the reason your parents are gone. He's the one who betrayed them," Sirius explained, sounding both angry and sad. frёewebηovel.cѳm

"I understand that - that's why I want to go!" Harry said. Well, it was that and the residual hatred from the Peter he knew in his other life.

Sirius stared at Harry intently, his grey eyes scanning the boy. Harry looked so intent, his emerald eyes hard with determination. "You really want to go?" he asked, his voice resigned. He didn't want to go and see that traitor. He didn't want to waste another minute on him. It was because of him that he had lost a decade of his life, that Harry had grown up unloved, that James and Lily were dead. He was done giving that rat time and attention.

"Yes," Harry stated.

Sirius sighed. Rubbing the back of his neck, he sat down opposite Harry. "If it means that much to you, we can go," he said eventually.

Harry let out a breath. He didn't know why Sirius was so against going to his trial but he wanted to watch as the rat went down. "Thank you," he said, relieved.

As he had the day free, Harry eventually returned to his search for answers. However, as he stood to leave the kitchen, his attention was drawn to the window, where a large black owl was perched. Flicking his wand, Harry let the owl enter and watched as it swooped in and landed next to him, its large dark eyes staring intently at him.

Reaching out, Harry quickly ran through a few detection spells before he picked up the letter, ignoring the package for now. After all, he hadn't survived the last war by taking unnecessary risks. Picking it up, he instantly recognised the handwriting. Flicking his wand to summon a few owl treats, Harry went to pet the bird who moved subtly away for him, obviously taking after his owner in his dislike for physical contact.

~

Mr. Potter, I must say that I am wary to congratulate you on your ingenuity in avoiding your family. However, I am pleased you are well and trust you will remain so, even if your current company is less than ideal.

You will find enclosed a few doses of the Wolfsbane potion; extra was provided to be taken at the user's discretion. I shall provide this potion annually, however this in no way means I am willing to, as you say, 'get to know' your new caregivers. As for the price, an invoice is in the box. Have the newly named Lord Black sign it and our business will be concluded.

Once again, my offer for aid stands if you ever find yourself in need contact me. Severus T. Snape

Potions Master

~

Smiling by the time he was finished reading, Harry passed the note to Remus while he investigated the potions Snape had sent. Looking at the vials, Harry could tell the potion was of the highest quality from the colour and consistency. He was sure that, if he took off the vial's lid, he would be hit with the pungent smell of the potion's namesake.

"I wasn't sure he would help," the wolf admitted after reading the note and passing it to Sirius, who had been reading over his shoulder with difficulty. "I had faith in him," Harry said. The younger wizard was looking at the invoice as well and saw that Snape hadn't even over charged Sirius like Harry had feared he would - he wouldn't put it past the man to hold onto his grudge and act childish. However, Harry was proud to see that Snape had charged them fairly, if even a little less than the standard rate.

Remus smiled at Harry's words and picked up a vial of the potion he needed. Examining it, he sighed when he saw the high quality. "Thank you," he told the green-eyed child.

Harry smiled and offered Remus a shrug. "I didn't do anything. If you want to thank anybody, thank Professor Snape." Remus held back his cringe at the thought of writing to Severus. He doubted the man would even read the note before burning it. "I will, but I also wanted to thank you. It's because of you that all of this has happened—we're here together because of you." Harry smiled at the lanky man.

Sirius, who had reread the letter twice, smiled at the words, distracting him from his annoyance towards Snape. Since the charms had been lifted, he found a lot of his emotions and feelings towards people were mixed up; things he had been certain about, people he had hated, no longer lined up to his true feelings and he was at a loss.

"Moony is right, Prongslet, you're really, very good at bringing people together," Sirius said.

Harry smiled. "Here's the invoice - it's actually a little less than I expected," Harry admitted.

Sirius took a look at it. Although he wasn't sure what the price should be, he believed Harry when he said it was less than the usual.

•

🚀New updates on my Ko-fi!🚀

Support me and read the novel, now available in PDF, with the advanced Chapters.

•

https://ko-fi.com/cmrowling