My Traitor Godfather

"You know, I still find it hard to believe," said Madame Rosmerta thoughtfully.

"Of all the people who have gone over to the dark side, Sirius Black is the last one I would have thought of... I mean, I remember him when I was a boy at Hogwarts. If someone had told me then what he was going to turn into, I would have replied that the person had drunk too much hot toddy" she completed her thought.

"Sometimes even the best souls can be corrupted," Nathaniel said thoughtfully about his opinion of Sirius Black and his own past.

"You don't know half of what he's done," said Fudge impatiently. "Most of you don't even know the worst of it."

"Worse?" exclaimed Madame Rosmerta, her voice lively with curiosity. "You mean worse than killing all those poor bastards?"

"That's right," confirmed the Minister.

"I can't believe it. What could be worse?" she wondered, curious to know what had happened that night.

"You say you remember him at Hogwarts, Rosmerta," murmured Professor Minerva. "Do you remember who his best friend was?" she asked. 

"Of course," said Madame Rosmerta, with a giggle. "You never saw one without the other, did you? The number of times you two were here, aah, you made me laugh all the time. An incredible duo, Sirius Black and James Potter!".

"Young Potter's father?" Nathaniel was a little surprised by the revelation.

"Yes, they were always together, great troublemakers," Minerva replied.

Harry, who was still under the tables trying to escape, heard his father's name and almost revealed himself.

"Black and Potter. Leaders of a little class. They were both very clever, of course, in fact exceptionally clever, but I don't think we've ever had a pair of troublemakers like them." She concluded, thinking back to the good times she'd had at Hogwarts.

"I don't know," said Hagrid, chuckling. "Fred and George Weasley would be a tough match for the two of them."

"Potter trusted Black more than any other friend. Nothing changed when they both finished school. Black was best man when James married Lilian. Then they chose him as Harry's best man. The boy has no idea about this, of course. Can you imagine how sad that would make him?" Professor McGonagall said. And Harry, who was listening to the conversation, was paralyzed, now knowing that the murderer who escaped from Azkaban was his godfather.

"So the boy doesn't know that he's related to Sirius Black?" Nathaniel asked Minerva.

"I really hope not, he'd be devastated to find out the truth," said Hagrid, joining the conversation.

"That's because Black ended up allying himself with You-Know-Who?" whispered Madam Rosmerta.

"It was much worse than that, my dear." Fudge lowered his voice and continued in a kind of low whisper. "Many people don't know that the Potters knew that You-Know-Who was out to get them. Dumbledore, who naturally worked tirelessly against You-Know-Who, had a number of useful spies. One of them tipped him off and he immediately alerted James and Lilian. Dumbledore advised them both to hide. Well, of course, it wasn't easy for someone to hide from You-Know-Who. Dumbledore suggested to them that they would have a better chance of escaping if they used the "Fidelius Spell". 

"What's that like?" asked Madame Rosmerta, panting with interest. 

Nathaniel replied. "An extremely complex spell," he explained in his cold voice, "used to hide a secret, by means of magic, in a single living person. The information is kept deep inside the chosen person, or secret keeper, and it becomes impossible to find it, unless, of course, the secret keeper decides to tell someone else." He finished his explanation.

Harry was afraid to hear more because he had already had nightmares about Voldemort, when he killed his mother, because of the Dementors.

And now he could discover the cause that led to his parents' death and caused him to live in his mother's sister's house, suffering recurrent abuse. 

"So Black was the Potter's secret keeper?" whispered Madame Rosmerta.

Which made Harry's heart stop for a moment. 'I can't believe he sold my parents,' he now felt a deep anger towards Sirius Black.

"Of course," replied Professor Minerva. Confirming Harry's suspicion and making his anger rise even more.

"James Potter told Dumbledore that Black would rather die than tell him where they were, that Black was thinking of going into hiding too... even so, Dumbledore remained concerned. I remember that he himself offered to be the Potter's secret keeper". Minerva said, remembering the events of the past. 

"He suspected Black?" exclaimed Madame Rosmerta.

"He was sure that someone close to the Potters had kept You-Know-Who informed of the couple's movements," replied Hagrid darkly.

"So I take it that the suspicion of the traitor being Black was confirmed?" said Nathaniel, understanding the direction of the conversation of the people at the table who were involved at the time.

"In fact, Dumbledore had been suspecting for some time that someone on our side was a traitor and was passing on a lot of information to You-Know-Who." Minerva commented: "But James insisted on using Black, trusting in his friendship." Sadness touched her voice.

Harry clenched his fists in frustration until his nails made his hands bleed.

"Black betrayed the Potters? That's a shock," muttered Madame Rosmerta.

"Yes, I found him right after the attack without suspecting ANYTHING," Hagrid shouted, already altered by the wave of emotions. "He still asked for Harry, saying he was his godfather," the anger in his voice could not be contained.

"Keep your voice down, Hagrid," Minerva warned him.

Harry was touched by his half-giant friend's declaration and his hatred for Sirius Black, his godfather and his father's best friend, only consumed his heart more and more.

"But I'd been ordered by Dumbledore, and I said no, Dumbledore had told me to take Harry to his aunt and uncle's house. Black disagreed, but gave in in the end. He then told me that I could take his motorcycle to take Harry."

Now Harry realized why he had gone to live with his aunt and uncle: 'It was Dumbledore's order... because he put me through that hell'. His thoughts about the great wizard were now complex.

"And what happened to Black afterwards?" Nathaniel asked the Minister.

"Black was taken away by twenty policemen from the Magic Enforcement Squad and Pettigrew, who died a hero confronting Black, received the Order of Merlin First Class, which I guess was some consolation for his poor mother. Black has been imprisoned in Azkaban ever since." Fudge replied quickly.

'Pettigrew' the name stuck in the young Potter's mind.

"You seem very out of date, Nat," Rosmerta asked, curious about what her friend was doing at the time.

"I was in a very distant place doing research and could only be in Britain for a few moments, and those were rare and quick," he explained his situation at the time. 

Her curiosity didn't cease, but as her friend didn't reveal anything else, she let him get away with it this time. 

"You know, Cornelius, if you're going to have dinner with the principal, we'd better go back to the castle," Minerva suggested, remembering the minister.

Getting up with Hagrid, Minerva headed for the door. 

Nathaniel still sat enjoying his whisky.

"And you Nat, the school vacations start tomorrow, do you have any plans yet?" he said coquettishly.

"Unfortunately yes, I have some things that need my attention," he said sighing, knowing what he had to do after today.

The door to the school opened again, letting in another flurry of snowflakes, and the teachers disappeared.

"Harry?" called Ron. 

Hermione also appeared from under the table. 

But her other friend was no longer there.

The two of them stared at each other, unable to find the words to say.