(Harry Potter) Worthy of you: Chapter 18 - A lot of little problems

Chapter 18 - A lot of little problems

Summary: Old secrets resurface as Harry faces revelations, unexpected allies, and a dangerous escape.

Harry stepped out of the Portrait Room and leaned back on the hallway wall, taking a deep breath.

There was still disappointment lingering from when he believed he would finally have a chance to meet his parents.

A small smile began twitching on the corner of his lips despite that. His chest began warming thinking about how he got to do something he never even thought about before.

He met his grandparents, and they were awesome.

With a deep breath Harry pushed himself off the wall and began walking slowly toward the living room on the first floor.

He expected to see Remus there, maybe reminiscing about old times. Harry was surprised though to see Remus sitting on the couch with a cup of tea in his hand and a house guest sitting across from him.

And if the long beard and hair wasn't a dead giveaway, then the eyesore of colorful robes the old man was wearing would have been more than enough to recognize Albus Dumbledore, who was sipping from his own cup of tea.

The moment his blue eyes caught a glimpse of him he smiled widely, "Ah. Mr. Potter, a lovely day for a visit wouldn't you say?"

Harry glanced at Remus, trying to figure out when the headmaster arrived for said visit.

Remus gave Harry a sheepish smile, "I was busy installing the floo network, once it was done, I tried to make a call to Hogwarts, to make sure everything works fine and Albus asked to come through for a short visit."

Harry nodded, and Remus gave Harry a wistful little smile as he asked, "How was the talk with your parents?"

Harry took a deep breath, "They weren't there. They... they didn't have the time to make a portrait before... you know."

Remus's wistful smile turned into a very sad frown, and he gave Harry a gentle nod of understanding.

But Harry then smiled brightly, "But Grandpa and Grandma were there we spoke for a while."

Remus's eyes widened, "Charles and Dorea? Of course. Why haven't I thought about it?" He finished the last part as a mumble to himself.

The headmaster leaned back in his seat with a soft, nostalgic smile on his face, "Ah, dear Charles and Dorea. I just began my teaching career in Hogwarts when they began their first year. I have a few fond memories of their youth if you ever wish to hear about it."

Harry could feel his chest warming up. There was still a feeling of bitterness when it came to Dumbledore, but it was obvious the old man was doing his best to make amends while still respecting Harry's boundaries. "I would like it." He replied eventually.

The powerful wizard inclined his head in acknowledgment before asking with a soft voice, "Did they have anything interesting to tell you about your lineage?"

Harry shook his head, "No. But..." He hesitated for a moment, not sure if he should trust the headmaster with the information. The goblins were already on the case, and having the headmaster involved could cause some troubles down the line.

Deciding it would be some justified karma Harry decided to tell the professor half the truth, "When I mentioned Voldemort's real name, my grandma recognized his middle name."

"Did she now?" Dumbledore's smile was gone, replaced with a slack jaw and wide eyes.

Harry nodded, "She connected him to some pureblood house called Gaunt. She told me rumors she heard about them during her Hogwarts years. Rumors about how the squib daughter of the house ran away with a muggle that lived next door. She also told me that three years after they ran away the brother of the squib began complaining that the muggle returned to his home while his sister was still missing. She finished by saying that a few years later the brother was accused of killing the muggle and his parents."

The headmaster took a slow sip of his tea before he spoke slowly, trying to keep calm even though Harry could see the gears turning in his head, "Thank you Mr. Potter. You have confirmed some details I have spent decades trying to gather."

Dumbledore raised his cup back to his lips, taking a very slow sip from it in an obvious attempt to hide how his eyes were scanning Harry curiously from toe to head.

When his blue eyes landed on Harry's forehead. Those same eyes widened and the cup in the old man's hand fell to the floor and shattered. Still the ancient wizard didn't dare move his now shining eyes from Harry's forehead.

"Harry... Your scar..." Dumbledore whispered, unbelieving.

After the goblin's ritual Harry noticed how faded his scar became, it looked like any old wound that was healing. No longer was it a raw scar that screamed for everyone's attention.

Harry sighed and gave the headmaster a small smile, "Yes sir, it's gone. I'm free from his curse." Harry let the double meaning hang there. Let Dumbledore make his own assumptions if Harry knew about the Horcrux or if he thought it really was just a dark curse from Tom.

Tears began running down the wrinkled face of the old man as a wide smile spread across his beard, his voice was raw and emotional, "Excuse me... I have hoped... I searched... for years... You did it! You did it and you are alive!"

Harry felt a pang in his heart that he ever considered the professor would consider a plan that would intentionally kill him. It was obvious the man was desperate, and because of that he made some very poor choices that Harry had to pay the price for. While he still wasn't sure he could forgive the old man, he started to believe he could trust and work with him.

Harry smiled and handed the headmaster a handkerchief from the table, "Thank you, Sir. For all your efforts."

The headmaster used the handkerchief to dry his cheeks as he shook his head, "I have failed you Mr. Potter. Time after time in the course of your young life I have failed you." Then his voice took on something more determined, "Thank you. For reminding me of hope, that even the impossible can be done by the right person."

Harry wasn't sure what he should say, instead he went around and sat down next to Remus, allowing a moment for the headmaster to collect himself.

Remus cleared his throat and began slowly, "Harry, you see... Albus is here for a couple more reasons."

Harry looked at his new guardian with a raised eyebrow, which caused the man to shift uncomfortably in his seat. Harry could guess that whatever they had to talk about was concerning Remus.

Harry had to admit, he was so eager to leave the Dursleys behind and find a new home that he didn't really question Remus about who he was and where he had been for the past few years.

The only thing that Harry knew that caused him to trust the man so much was the fact he was like a brother to his father. Though he did recall Snape referring to Remus as a creature, but then again it was Snape, when is he not insulting someone other than the headmaster.

Dumbledore seemed to notice Remus's reluctance and decided to take it on himself to start the conversation, "Are you familiar with magical ailments, Harry?"

Harry shook his head and admitted with a soft blush, "I didn't have the time to read on them since starting to put my mind into the books."

The old man chuckled before saying kindly, "Quite understandable. You will find that one of those ailments is lycanthropy, a condition created in one by being bitten by a werewolf during their transformation."

Harry nodded, before his eyes widened, all the pieces falling into place as he turned to look at Remus.

The wary man nodded somberly, "Yes. I was bitten as a child. Since then every full moon I'm transforming into a werewolf and not safe to be around."

Harry tilted his head, but the headmaster was quick to speak in Remus's defense, "Of course there is the Wolfsbane potion that allows the person to preserve his mind even during the transformation. While the potion is a bit expensive due to the complexity of its production..."

Harry immediately cut the old man off with a voice full of determination, "We have enough money Remus, so just buy as much as you need."

Dumbledore's open mouth closed into a wide and proud smile, while Remus's jaw dropped. After a moment he yelled in outrage, "Didn't you hear?! I'm a dangerous monster."

Harry tilted his head and retorted with a soft voice, "You are my uncle, my real one unlike Vernon. My parents knew and didn't care, and neither will I. You came and helped me, when no one else would, now I want to help you."

Remus used the sleeve of his robe to wipe the rogue tear that escaped his eyes as he said softly, and full of sincerity, "Thank you, Harry. You have no idea what it means to me."

Harry could just smile at the shabby man. His attention was drawn back to the third man in the room when he spoke, "I ask you to not tell anyone beyond those you absolutely trust the following news. Remus here is going to be next year's DADA professor. As such I will entrust the special training program I have prepared for you with him, be sure to listen to your teacher during the summer and use this time wisely." Then his voice took the same grandfatherly tone Harry was used to, "That being said, do not forget to enjoy these years of youth from time to time. Times like that will not last forever."

Harry nodded his head with a large smile on his face, "Thank you, Sir. I will be sure to find the balance between the two, and make all of you proud."

His brow then frowned, "You said there was another reason you stopped by."

The headmaster's smile disappeared, his face looked like it aged a decade, "That would be Sirius Black."

Harry's frown turned into a scowl.

He heard that name a lot in the last few days, but when he asked people always seemed to avoid the subject.

With a lot of curiosity and a sense of dread he tried to push away Harry asked, "What about Sirius Black? Who is he anyway? My grandma mentioned him, as well as you Remus, but..."

Dumbledore sighed heavily, "Sirius Black is a lot of things Harry... One of them is your godfather."

Harry's mind froze.

He had a godfather?! A magical one, that knew his parents. After all, according to the records his dad, Sirius, Remus and some guy named Peter were the Marauders during their Hogwarts years.

And still the only one he met so far was Remus. Sirius Black was mentioned a couple of times, but was always avoided as a subject of conversation, while this Peter was never even mentioned.

"He is also known as the traitor to the Potter house." Dumbledore finished painfully.

Harry's eyes widened for a moment, before they narrowed and he demanded, "What do you mean?"

It was Remus's turn to explain, "When Albus came to your parents with the warning that Voldemort was hunting them, and you, they went into hiding in one of the smaller Potter properties. Lily even found a spell that was cast around the house and hid its location from everyone except the secret keeper. And the secret keeper was the only one who could share the secret and reveal the location to others. Even I couldn't even though I knew where they were hiding."

His voice took on a sharp edge as he went on, "Sirius and James were like brothers. James took Sirius in to live in this mansion when his mother threw him out of the house. It was always the obvious choice that Sirius would be the secret keeper for the Potters. The fact that You-Know-Who managed to find and enter the cottage, meant that Sirius sold the location to him."

Anger. Anger was filling all of Harry's being right now.

Hate. He was feeling a hate so strong. He thought the only one who could cause Harry such a feeling was Tom Riddle, but now Sirius Black had managed to match the worst dark lord of the century.

One man.

Because of one man, Harry lost his parents. Because of one man, he was forced to live in hell for a decade. Every single bad thing that happened to him so far began because of one man.

"What happened to him?" Harry hissed, barely managing to stop himself from growling.

The old man let out another deep sigh, "After Tom attacked your home, he arrived to try and collect you. Why, I have no idea, but I ordered Hagrid to bring you directly to me and no one else. Sirius was reluctant but gave up easily enough. The next time we heard of him he was arrested in the middle of a muggle road after killing 12 muggles and Peter Pettigrew, who we assumed was trying to confront him about the deaths of James and Lily. He has been in Azkaban ever since. That is, until earlier today."

Remus and Harry froze in their seats and looked at the headmaster with growing dread. "Don't tell me..." Remus whispered.

Dumbledore nodded grimly, "The ministry confirmed that in the middle of last night Sirius Black has escaped Azkaban."