Sirius's Musings

"I just said you've been in Azkaban too long and your head's gone haywire," Harry said with a grin. Sirius heard him this time and let out a wolf-like howl of laughter.

"Call you and your friends, let's go to the common room. I have a lot to say to you." Sirius held out his hand to Harry, then forced a smile at Draco and Ron. "Arthur is your father, isn't he? I know him."

"Narcissa is your mother, isn't she? She's my cousin."

Along the way, Sirius was prepared for a long battle.

Although he was carefree, he knew he had deeply offended Harry's friends. But after a few simple pleasantries, and after he mentioned that he had a magically modified motorcycle, for some reason, the brat named Ron stopped being cold and even seemed to be a little more polite to him than his cousin's son.

And Harry, whom he cared about most, was no longer just showing him pity—like an adult showing affection to a sick child, he gradually became closer to him.

Although Professor McGonagall glared at him for it, it was nothing serious; Harry's attitude was the most important thing.

"Oh, Professor, how come your classroom hasn't changed much after all these years?" Sirius familiarly found a seat and waved for Harry and his friends to come over.

"Shut up, Sirius. You need to act like an adult in front of the children," Professor McGonagall said sternly, but she seemed to smile slightly. In any case, her lips weren't so tightly pursed anymore.

"What is this? Today's the Daily Prophet?"

"Sirius, is this you?" Harry said, pointing to the newspaper on the table. He realized something crucial— Sirius didn't know what to say to him. So Harry decided to start a conversation, since Sirius seemed to have some mental issues, and what if he brought up Draco's Death Eaters father?

"I knew it."

"It's bound to be another eulogy, enough already! I'm not a hero, I'm the one who killed James!" Sirius suddenly growled in anguish, startling Harry and his friends, as well as Professor McGonagall, who was about to leave to give Black Family some space.

"I advise you not to look, Sirius," Professor McGonagall said, half in alarm and half in warning. "It's a report by Rita Skeeter."

"Rita Skeeter? Oh, I remember, a girl who likes to make things up—Nerd House. Sorry, I don't have a problem with Ravenclaw, I just don't really like her." Sirius's eyes gleamed with reminiscence.

Sirius came to his senses and found that his godson and his friends all looked understanding, not angry as he had expected for his unintentional slander of Ravenclaw. "What did I miss? How do you all know so much about her? Is she famous now?"

"Mr. Black Family, you wouldn't want to know," Ron said gloomily. He hadn't minded Rita Skeeter's report before, since it had made him famous. But now he thought, he was part of the team that defeated the You-Know-Who, and he didn't care about that kind of fame!

For the first time, he deeply understood what Harry felt.

But this only piqued Sirius's interest. He looked toward a corner of Professor McGonagall's study. If he remembered correctly, and the location hadn't changed, that was where the newspapers were kept! Articles that Professor McGonagall was interested in would be placed there separately.

"Gringotts was robbed—who had the nerve to do that? But no; Barty Crouch was captured, and Little Crouch —he's still alive, Harry, he's my neighbor. I thought he was long dead; Ludo Bagman, I knew that old fellow would end up like this. Got it!"

"Harry Potter's difficult childhood!" Sirius suddenly shouted. "Harry, how did your aunt and uncle treat you?"

"It was alright, they didn't let me go hungry, they just made me wear old clothes and I was often bullied by Dudley, but Dudley isn't like that anymore," Harry said casually, without going into detail about his painful childhood.

When he was a child, in the storage room under the stairs, he often wondered if he had other relatives who would suddenly appear and take him away!

To be honest, he had already prepared his speech in these countless rehearsals, and all his pain and grievances were condensed in them.

He could even recite this speech backwards.

But right now, he doesn't want to say too much; he's happy as he is.

"Old clothes! Dudley must be at Hogwarts! I'm going to find him!"

"And that old Dumbledore, I'm going to find him, the Dursley, and that Petunia —they all hate the James family— Merlin's beard! How could I forget you, Harry? I shouldn't have kept quiet. I should have told him everything when Dumbledore first came to me, so Harry could have grown up with me." To Harry's surprise, even at this point, Sirius couldn't take it anymore. He stood up and started spinning around in circles.

If Professor McGonagall hadn't offered some words of advice, Harry doubted he would have actually gone to Dudley and used magic to teach him a lesson.

"You know my aunt and uncle?" Harry suddenly realized his blind spot.

"Yes! No, I should say I only know them, a stupid, hateful wizard-split Muggle couple, and I even know that the Dursley sell drilling rigs!" Sirius revealed a dangerous look.

"Enough, Sirius! Don't go back to Azkaban in a few days!" Professor McGonagall said urgently. She knew Sirius's eyes well; he always had that look on his face when he was about to do something.

"I know, Professor, I know my limits." Sirius licked his lips.

Professor McGonagall, standing nearby, couldn't help but roll her eyes. Ron and Draco, who knew more about Harry's childhood, wanted to cheer for Sirius, but with Professor McGonagall there, they had to remain calm.

Harry smiled, a mixture of annoyance and happiness. Voldemort was right; Sirius, though mentally challenged, genuinely cared for him.

"Alright, stop staring at me! Professor McGonagall, I've already graduated!"

"Oh, and let me see. Harry Potter at Hogwarts —quite the orientation!" He looked at Harry in surprise, Harry's face, so similar to James's, made him wonder—if James was like the one in the report, then who was it?

Sirius suddenly gasped for breath. If it were true, he would be the only candidate for that partner.

To his surprise, he found himself wavering slightly deep down—if this happened, would Lily Evans stop being with James?

"Sirius, this isn't real!" Harry, Ron, and Draco all shouted in unison.

"What?" Sirius asked, snapping out of his reverie. Harry and the others had no idea that Sirius had been thinking about something else and hadn't been reading the newspaper at all.

Thank you Taishi Yumi Xu, for the monthly pass! This is the fourth time this month. I'm truly grateful; words cannot express my gratitude.

I also remember the subscriptions and recommendations from other classmates. Thank you.