'And I'll have to check Flamel's journey for any notes on how to kill Dementors,' I thought privately. Because like Hell I was going to allow those things to roam around the Muggle world or Hogwarts openly!
"You two look hungry," I said after a moment. "I wasn't planning on having breakfast, but it's still pretty early. Want do you want? Waffles? Pancakes? I've got sausages and a rasher of bacon, too."
"All of it," Sirius said, clearly trying not to drool. Remus rolled his eyes, but I got it. He'd been unjustly imprisoned for over ten years. Binging on food was to be expected.
Inky and I started cooking, with us preparing not just the breakfast for my two guests but also the upcoming Christmas brunch.
Pancakes were really easy to make, and I got three dozen of them whipped up and ready to munch on. I served them up piping hot with a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg, plus a dollop of whipped cream. A small tureen of warmed up maple syrup was then placed on the table.
The food vanished in a flash. Sirius Black gobbled down ten pancakes in under three minutes, not bothering to cover them in any syrup or use a fork and knife, just grabbing one and cramming it into his mouth.
Lupin ate a bit more sedately, but he also had a major appetite. By the time I brought out some bacon the two men had consumed two dozen pancakes between them.
"You're going to want to pace yourselves," I warned. "Otherwise, you won't be able to handle any of the ham or turkey we've got for brunch."
"Sorry," Sirius apologized. "It's been a while since I've had a meal this good."
"It's fine, just don't complain when you hurt yourself," I replied. "Actually… Inky, can you get some medicine for their stomachs? And a nutriment potion milkshake for Sirius."
A couple seconds later, two vials of stomach soothing medicine appeared next to my guests along with the requested milkshake. The potion-laced drink would help the escaped prisoner assimilate the food he'd just eaten and put some meat on his bones. Seriously, the man was dangerously thin.
'Another reason why Azkaban has got to go,' I thought to myself. The fact that the magical folk of the British Isles had only a single prison and it was guarded by soul-eating monsters was completely insane. Crimes either resulted in fines, banishment, a stint in Azkaban, or death. There were no in-betweens.
And sadly, that seemed to be the case for the rest of the magical world. Only a few magical countries had anything even resembling acceptable jails. France being the foremost one in Europe. It was ridiculous, really.
"Thanks," Sirius said, drinking the tasty shake in a few loud gulps. "Now, what can you tell me about Harry?"
"How much do you know?" I asked, and he gained a scowl.
"Moony told me what he knew. And it didn't make me any more inclined to trust Dumbledore."
"So, was the headmaster really the one who cast the Fidelius?" I asked.
"He was," Sirius nodded. "Dumbledore knew Wormtail was the Secret Keeper, not me! Yet he left me to rot in that hell for ten long years!"
"I was afraid of that," I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose. "Alright, here's what I know, and how I ended up meeting Harry."
Sirius' expression grew increasingly furious as I explained what'd happened after Sirius gave baby Harry to Hagrid. From the abuse at the hands of the Dursleys to the schemes surrounding keeping Harry alone and isolated, to the foolish 'trap' Dumbledore had made to lure in Voldemort to Hogwarts as a means to test the Boy-Who-Lived.
"You-Know-Who is still alive?" Sirius demanded. "You're sure?"
"Pretty sure, yeah," I nodded.
"How? That doesn't make any sense!" the animagus exclaimed.
"I have some guesses," I admitted. "Does the Black family know about Horcruxes?"
Sirius gaped at me in disbelief and horror. Lupin growled. Even if he already knew thanks to me informing him of them, it was still a disgusting thing to even think about.
"How do you-? No, let me guess, the Hunches knew about it too," Sirius muttered. "Makes sense, they were a noble house, once."
"Still technically are, but yes, the Hunches have an extensive collection of literature," I said, lying through omission about the source of my knowledge.
"I want to say he would never do something like that… yet I know someone like him would absolutely do something as heinous as creating a Horcrux to avoid death," Lupin growled, the wolf in him rising to the fore.
"But what did he use as a Horcrux? And where would he have hidden it?" Sirius wondered.
"Dunno. I don't think he'd have hidden it with anyone he didn't completely trust," I said, trying to nudge them towards the right answers.
"His Inner Circle, then," Lupin guessed. "The main families who served him were the Malfoys, the Lestranges, and the Raystones."
"I don't recognize that last one," I admitted with a frown.
"They were wiped out early in the war," Lupin explained.
"Not that anyone will miss 'em," Sirius scoffed. "He was a paranoid bastard, though, so I doubt he let anyone actually know what it was he'd given them."
"Very likely," I agreed.
...
....
Join my P*atreon for 100 premium chapters ahead of the public release.
Link: pa*treon.com/MysticVerse (Remove the *)
Free members also get 2 advanced chapters for free.