Sirius scrambled to his feet.
He spat out the sand that had somehow gotten into his mouth and cursed inwardly. Norbert was one rough dragon!
He watched Silan warily, making no move to shake his hand. "Why did you bring me here?"
Silan glanced at the departing Norbert and found the whole scene absurd.
Why does it look like I sent an evil dragon to abduct a princess?
Shaking off the thought, Silan answered with a question of his own. "You know the Ministry of Magic has issued a warrant for you, don't you, Mr. Black?"
"Is this about money?" Black took two steps back and stared at him. "How much is the Ministry offering?"
"If you let me go, I'll pay you ten times that."
The Black family's gold was stored in vaults at Gringotts. The goblins cared about keys and the people who brought them, not anyone's legal standing.
Even as a wanted man, Sirius could withdraw Galleons from Gringotts.
Damn rich people, Silan thought.
Sirius could certainly afford to make that offer.
With the wealth generations of the Black family had accumulated, paying the sum would be no trouble for him.
In fact, he had lost almost everything but his money—even his identity.
In terms of wealth alone, perhaps only the Malfoy family could rival the Blacks in England's Wizarding World.
But that was small change. Silan wanted something far more valuable, something money could not buy.
"Mr. Black." Silan smiled and shook his head. "I didn't bring you here for money."
"Hah." Sirius gave a cold snort through gritted teeth. "You have an unusual way of inviting someone over."
Even as he spoke, Sirius kept studying Silan.
It had been dark when they last met, and he hadn't seen the boy clearly. Now he finally had