READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 81: Homecoming
Bones and Croaker, despite their anger at Dumbledore, had decided it was best to conceal its contents from Harry for the time being. They knew he would demand to know it if they knew it, so they simply decided to lie for the time being. Croaker wanted more time to think about the implications of the prophecy, on the slight chance that Dumbledore was right. Bones had narrowed her eyes at him, but he had only asked for another day or two to think.
She had brought along Harry's belongings as a way to placate him and distract him from the prophecy.
"On a lighter note, however, I have your belongings to return to you. They are now tracking charm free, but I do ask you not to try to leave the house using your remarkable cloak."
"No problem, ma'am, I wouldn't do that," Harry replied quickly, ecstatic at getting his stuff back.
Bones levitated the small bag to the bed, where Harry opened it to discover a much larger space than he had expected. He pulled out his school trunk, his Firebolt, and his invisibility cloak.
"Oh, and your snowy owl is now residing in our Owlery. She seemed quite agitated, so I do suggest that you pay her a visit in the near future," Bones added.
Harry smiled at the thought of Hedwig; he hadn't seen her in over a week, and he expected to get quite a pecking when he reunited with her.
"Thank you, Madam Bones. For everything. Seriously, I owe you my life, and I do appreciate it," Harry said sincerely, and his gaze discomfited Bones, who was feeling slightly guilty about withholding the prophecy from him.
"You are quite welcome Mr. Potter, I assure you. The other matter you asked me to look into, the Sirius Black case—well, there is not much I can tell you about your parents' betrayer, Mr. Potter. I was not Director of the DMLE at that time, but I was able to discover that Black was sent to Azkaban without a trial by Bartemius Crouch, Sr."
Bones had also discovered that Crouch's order was approved by Albus Dumbledore, but she didn't want Harry to know this. She suspected Dumbledore had done some sort of secret maneuvering again, but she didn't have time to look into the illegal incarceration of a now-deceased man. There was simply too much else to worry about right now.
Harry frowned at her response. "Without a trial? You mean no one even asked him why he betrayed my parents? How can they do that?"
"Well," Bones hedged, "it is certainly very…irregular, Mr. Potter. And it was a very difficult time for everyone, including the Ministry. I assure you that if I learn more I will tell you, but I simply don't have the time to look further into the matter at the moment."
"I understand, ma'am," Harry replied. "Thank you for looking into it. I'm just trying to understand why he betrayed my parents. The letter I got from him was so…I don't know, nice, I guess."
Bones nodded, groaning inwardly at the growing suspicion that Dumbledore had done something truly unforgivable to Sirius Black. Surely he would not have framed the man to gain control of Potter? And Black was certainly guilty of killing Peter Pettigrew and a dozen muggles. Wasn't he? Bones shivered, and wondered just how deep the rabbit hole went when it came to Dumbledore's manipulations.
"Well…don't dwell on it unduly, Mr. Potter. You too have other things to worry about. Auror Tonks tells me that you performed admirably today. Soon we will have a few other people help you out."
She turned and left the room, leaving Harry to his thoughts. He stood and moved to the window, looking out over the darkened grounds of Bones Manor.
Exhaling loudly, Harry allowed himself to truly relax for the first time in months. Some of his problems still remained, but he was making progress in solving them. His magic had been restored and felt wonderful, he was safe from Dumbledore, and he had his things back. He had even enjoyed talking to Parvati for the past few days.
Harry moved away from the window and returned to his bed. He had several more chapters to cover in his reading for the night. Things were finally looking up, and he wanted to impress Tonks tomorrow.
Outside the wards of Bones Manor, less than a quarter mile from Harry's window, a pair of sharp rodent eyes observed his every move.
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