The rest of them waited, rather stunned at the heated argument between Dumbledore and Fudge. Finally though, finally, the Minister relented on the dementors, clearly unhappy with being outnumbered. There would be consequences to this, Arthur was sure of it. But at least the children were safe. For everyone's sanity, there was a short recess full of mumbled insults and tea before they moved on to other, less controversial topics. (One might have noticed they never agreed to a solution for the student's safety, but that's politics for you.) There was a host of general complaints Arthur had brought up on behalf of several others, including the muggleborn parents of the petrified students. The Board of Governors clearly couldn't care less about the muggleborn's complaints, but with several parents threatening to pull their children from Hogwarts (which would lose them a fair bit of tuition funds, desperately needed at this time) everything was eventually sorted or planned to be dealt with during the school year. Dumbledore did not look pleased at the investigation into Hogwarts employee conduct, but he was much more polite about the notion than he had with Fudge's suggestions. What a bizarre day - to have Arthur arguing on the same side as Malfoy (of all people) against Dumbledore one moment, and then have him vehemently defending Dumbledore against the Minister another. Politics.
...
Her living room was a mess, and that was saying something because she and Harry were both naturally cluttered people but Sirius Black was a pig. How did the most wanted man in Britain even acquire this much stuff? She picked up a sweaty t-shirt by the end of her wand. Eyed the pile of socks at the other end of the couch. Stacks of newspapers littered his area and there was so much dog hair.
Huffing, she found him curled up in dog form outside, napping in the sun.
"So, when are you leaving?" She demanded, giving him a light kick to wake him up.
He whined as he shifted back and stretched, unwilling to get up from his comfortable spot in the soft grass. "Don't say things like that, you'll make me think you don't like me. Besides, I can't leave until at least after Harry's birthday!"
"Which is in three days, and the Weaselys are returning tomorrow, so we can get rid of Pettigrew immediately, thus removing the last of any necessity for me to put up with your making a mess of my house." She hissed.
"If I had my own room, I wouldn't need to leave my stuff all over the sitting room."
"What part of I can't stand your dog hair infecting my laundry do you not understand? I much preferred you when you were terrified of me."
"How am I supposed to be scared of you when you cut Harry's sandwiches into triangles and go to all his muggle soccer games? You were hardly scary once I got to know you. And I think if you wanted me dead, you would have done so weeks ago."
"And yet every day you test my patience." What a tempting thought it was, indeed. Black was a chatty fellow, which was easily one of her least favorite qualities in a person.
"Real talk, then." He reluctantly sat up. "Where am I supposed to go? Let's say that everything works out, and Peter is shipped off to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, it will take months for a trial to get going. I never got one to begin with - all the red tape they'll have to sift through! I'll be a wanted man until then, am I supposed to rent a flat in London?"
"That's your problem. Might I remind you - you're a wizard! Use some magic. Figure it out."
"It's too risky for me to stay in England unless I'm behind wards like these," Sirius argued. His voice turned to a whisper. "And I don't want to be far from Harry. There was no point to any of this if I can't see him."
"Sirius," she huffed and sat down next to him. "Harry and I are going to Hogwarts in a month. What are your plans for when that happens? Are you going to stow away in his trunk?"
"… Maybe."
"You can't think of a single place you could go. Not any friends, not any secret Black properties, nothing?" She demanded. Sirius barked a laugh at the thought of crashing on a friend's couch. Who did he have left after all this time? Everyone he loved was dead or believed he was a murderer. Where had Remus been all these years? The Longbottoms, Andromeda Tonks, McGonagall, Dumbledore? Any of his colleagues in the Auror Corp? Had they honestly believed that Sirius would do such a thing? Betray his own brother? Maybe he held a few grudges about being tossed into Azkaban without a trial… but Sirius reckoned he was allowed to be bitter.
"Well," he kicked at the dirt, his only option left was not one he was enthused about. "I suppose old Grimmauld Place isn't too far. It'll need some work, though. Like approximately four weeks' worth of work before I could move in, right around September first, I think." He gave her a cheeky grin but she rolled her eyes and did not budge. She absolutely refused to fall for any of his charismatic charm. He knew he was out of practice, (and honestly, right now his heart was not fully in it) but honestly, his feelings!
.....
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