The Fat Lady’s portrait swung open without a password for the newly minted Head of House. As he stepped inside, dust rose from the carpet like a low fog. As soon as he left, Sirius knew, the house-elves would scurry in to rectify the situation, banishing the dust of fifteen years of neglect. The rooms would be made ready for the arrival of students.. The curtains and rugs cleaned, the walls scrubbed, the fires lit, and it would all look as it had before.
Sirius almost couldn’t grasp it. The idea of normalcy had become too surreal.
“So this is the Gryffindor common room.”
Sirius turned. “Does your father know you’re here?” There was only one person this could be, even if he had never seen him with that face before. It was astonishing how much he looked like James without the glamour. Astonishing. “Either of them?” he amended.
Harry grimaced. “They both think I’m with the other.” At Sirius’s expression, he went on, “You can’t tell them! I haven’t had a moment to myself all summer. They don’t leave me alone. I’ve barely gotten to visit Ron.”
“Well er…” Sirius began. “You can’t blame them. You did die. We all watched you die.”
Harry looked away. “I guess.”
“So this is where decided to sneak off to,” Sirius said when the silence had grown unbearable. “School.”
“It’s changing really fast here,” Harry said. “It’s interesting. I’ve never seen it like this before.”
Sirius supposed they should all be grateful that at least he wasn’t pacing the entryway or taking walks on the lawn in front of the castle. “And nobody would think to look here for you.”
“That too.” He stepped over to one of the armchairs in front of the fire, but he didn’t sit down, instead staring dubiously at the layer of grime. “I wonder if this is going to be my common room.”
“Probably,” Sirius said. And it struck him that even that was far too close to dangerous territory. “I mean the hat has to sort you here now, to protect the sanctity of Gryffindor Tower.”
Harry snorted. And then he walked over to the window to stare out over the lawn.
“How’s Remus?” he asked hastily, just for something to say.
“The same as when you saw him this morning,” Harry said, struggling to hide a sardonic smirk. “How’s Reg?”
“Better.” Sirius swallowed his sigh. “He’s taken to visiting Andromeda. She’s taken in the Malfoy kid. That’s been… interesting.”
Harry’s eyebrows rose. “I bet.”
“I hear McGonagall offered your dad a job,” Sirius said lightly.
“Yeah he, erm, he says he would rather drink poison than ever set foot in here again.”
Melodramatic old bastard. “I meant James, you know.”
“Oh. I don’t think he wants much to do with this place either.”
Sirius understood. He really did. Everything was drowning in history now, all of it bad, the kind that made people run away, sell off what they had left, and move into little apartments in Diagon Ally, or a cottage in the wilds of Wales. Not that he had any idea about that, running back to Hogwarts like this. “Which makes it the ideal hiding spot.”
“Yeah.” He went back to the window, his eyes drawn to a certain rock ledge. Sirius remembered sprawling on that ledge in the spring sunlight with his friends, soaking in the sunlight after the end of winter. Before he could think of something to say to jerk Harry out of wherever bleak place his mind had taken him, Harry spoke again. “I really did die, you know.”
“I know.”
“No, I mean I really actually died. I met my mum. I talked to her. I can’t tell either of them that. I really did die and I did it on purpose, and I had no idea I was going to come back. I planned it, you know? I practiced what I was going to say to Voldemort, I practiced saying his name so I wouldn’t start stuttering or something, and I spent the whole year planning how I was going to die.”
Sirius realized with sudden horrible clarity just how completely out of his depth he was. “You aren’t planning to die again, are you?”
“No!” Harry yelled.
Sirius walked over and put his hand on his shoulder. “I don’t have anything wise and profound to say, Harry, but I think if you don’t want to die, you’re going to be okay. And you’re going to have to start thinking about what you want to do next.”
Harry shifted uncomfortably. “Well, for the next two years, there’s still school.”
Sirius nodded. “Nice, safe, gives you a little bit of time.”
“It’s going to be completely different.”
“Yes it will.” The silence stretched on after that, but there was nothing about it what was uncomfortable. Instead, it felt necessary. “Are you going to keep wearing the glamour?”
Harry shrugged. “Most of the time. It’s how most of the people here know me. Ginny’s got plans to convince everybody I’m two different people.”
He laughed. “I can’t wait to see that.”
“Yeah,” Harry said with a surprised smile. “I don’t think it’s going to work though.”
“Probably not,” Sirius confirmed. “You’re the boy who killed Voldemort. You’re not going to get away from it that easy.” He searched his face. “You ready for that?”
“Not really.” Harry eyed him warily, waiting for his response.
“I think you’ll do fine,” Sirius told him.
Harry smiled. “Yeah.”
“Go on, get out of here. I’ve got work to do.” Sirius pulled him into a hug. “Go home. I’ll see you next week at the Sorting.”
o0O0o
The Sorting Hat’s Song, September 1996:
Fifteen years have passed since I have sung a song,
And I don’t mind saying those fifteen years were long.
Many passed through Hogwarts never knowing their house,
Sorted instead by the things our conquerors espoused.
Many stand before me for a sorting these long years overdue
Who have made friends, fighting enemies by the slew.
The last thing I wish is to separate you now,
So a warning I will give to this assembled crowd.
Don’t let your house divide you if you were friends first.
There is no house that’s better and no house that’s worst.
Every house has heroes and every house has shame,
People who have brightened or darkened it’s great name.
Gryffindor, the house for those of courage true,
Gave us Sirius Black, James Potter, and Peter Pettigrew.
Ravenclaw where they desire all the knowledge in the world,
Hosted Reine MacDougal, Filius Flitwick, and Quirinus Quirrell.
Hufflepuff, the house of hard work, fairness and brotherhood,
Sheltered Pomona Sprout, Amelia Bones, and Augustus Rookwood.
Slytherin, house of ambitions great or little,
Had Severus Snape, Andromeda Tonks, and Tom Riddle.
Come on up and sit right down; I’ll tell you what I know,
But I can’t tell you who you’ll be or how far you will go.
It’s your choices that define you, and determine who you’ll be.
It’s you who have that power, no matter what I say or see.
Rejoice in the living, honor the dead,
And never fear what lies your own head.
What you were this morning you’ll still be when I’m done;
You make yourself who you are; you’re the only one.
o0O0o
“‘Yes, but the world isn’t split into good people and Death Eaters,’ said Sirius with a wry smile.
-Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling, First American edition, page 302, July 2003.
Epilogue
The End.