Chapter 40: Aunt Cassie's Challenge
The Monday after the funeral, Druella Black left Malfoy Manor and moved permanently into Grimmauld Place in order to help her mother-in-law, much to the relief of Sirius, who was more than happy finally to move back to Windermere Court. Harry was simply glad to have things return more or less to their proper order.
On the Wednesday after the funeral, Harry and Draco resumed their lessons. Cassiopeia launched the boys on an intensive preparatory program, including the full range of subjects they would be studying in their first year at Hogwarts.
'By the time you start school, I expect you to have your first-year course books memorised,' she informed them in a tone that brooked no opposition. 'You are scions of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. It simply will not do for either of you to be shown up by wizards of lesser lineage.'
Both boys steadily improved with their wandwork, though Draco continued to have a slight edge over Harry when casting normally. Harry found this very frustrating, especially since every spell he practised would come easily if only he used Parseltongue.
At first he was tempted to spend all his time outside of lessons practising with Parseltongue, since it was so much easier, but it only succeeded in making it even harder for him to perform spells normally in class. Since Harry still did not wish to alert Cassiopeia to his newfound talent, he decided to bring up his problem with Sirius.
'That's very strange,' Sirius said, stroking his beard thoughtfully. 'I don't see why using Parseltongue for spells should have a deleterious effect on your other magic.'
'Maybe I should just use Parseltongue all the time, and not worry about the other,' Harry suggested.
Sirius raised an eyebrow. 'And when other people find out?'
'Let them deal with it,' Harry replied casually.
Sirius shook his head. 'I don't like it. I think you should avoid using Parseltongue for the time being. Build up your strength with your normal magic first.'
'But shouldn't I practise the Parseltongue too?' Harry protested.
'It seems to come to you naturally enough without practice,' Sirius pointed out. 'What are the most advanced spells you can do with Parseltongue?'
'I've got through all the third-year spells without a problem.'
'What can you do normally?'
Harry's shoulders fell. 'I'm struggling to keep up with Draco.'
'Focus on your normal work,' Sirius said, ruffling his son's hair. 'Once you catch up a bit, then maybe you can bring out the Parseltongue again.'
Harry did not like depriving himself of his unique ability, but Sirius's advice made good sense, and Harry went along with it. In time, he caught up with Draco, though his performance, much to Cassiopeia's frustration, never surpassed what one would expect from a young wizard of average abilities. The only exception seemed to be during their weekly sessions of special magic, where Harry did seem to have a special gift. This mollified Cassiopeia somewhat, though it also confused her.
'Magnificent, Aries,' she said one Friday, after Harry had managed the Blood-boiling Curse on his first try. 'Why is it that you manage these spells with such ease, but never display anything other than determined mediocrity in your other work?'
'I don't know, Aunt Cassie,' Harry said quietly. Draco gave him a worried look, but said nothing.
...
Whilst the boys endured their lessons with Cassiopeia every morning, Sirius took advantage of the opportunity to visit Remus. The werewolf was unemployed at the time, and so he was more than happy to spend his mornings talking with his old friend over a couple of bottles of butterbeer.
'How are you holding up, Padfoot?' Remus asked him one day.
Sirius shrugged. 'Well enough. I'm mostly exhausted.'
Remus nodded. 'I'm not surprised, what with all the work you've been doing.' He smiled wryly. 'Who would have guessed when you were sixteen that you'd happily step into the role of Black paterfamilias?'
Sirius grinned. 'Not yet, Moony. Grandfather's still breathing, last time I checked.'
'Acting paterfamilias, then.' Remus furrowed his brow. 'How's that bit going? It can't be pleasant for you, being stuck back with your family.'
'Well, staying with the family was one of Aunt Cassie's conditions for letting me take charge of Harry,' Sirius explained. 'I knew what I was in for. But it's actually not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I think we've all of us mellowed a bit.' He chuckled. 'Though you might want to ask me again in a few months. I haven't been back in England that long.'
'It probably helps that some of your more unpleasant relations are gone,' Remus pointed out.
'That's true enough. I'd probably go barmy if I had to live with my mum again, or if I had to play nice with Bella. I nearly went mad just staying at Grimmauld Place with Grandmamma.' He paused reflectively. 'There's one other thing.'
'What's that?'
'Before, when I ran away, I didn't have anything in common with my family,' Sirius said. 'Now we all have one thing in common.'
Remus understood. 'Harry.'
'Exactly. I didn't think it possible, but they mostly seem genuinely to care for Harry.' Sirius chuckled. 'Even Aunt Cassie, in her own perverse way.'
Remus grimaced. 'I don't think she's capable of caring for anyone.'
'You're just upset because you were on the receiving end of her interrogation techniques.'
'She used the Cruciatus Curse on me!' Remus exclaimed.
Sirius shrugged. 'To be fair, Moony, at the time she thought you and Dumbledore were plotting to steal Harry and send him back to live with those filthy Muggles.'
'You've been spending too much time with your family, Padfoot,' Remus observed. 'You're picking up their expressions.'
'Can you think of a more apt description of the Dursleys?' Sirius demanded. 'You know as well as anyone how terribly they treated Harry.'
Remus conceded the point. Sirius changed the subject.
'I wish you'd let me give you some gold,' Sirius said with a pout. 'This place could use some repairs, and with Granddad gone I am now fabulously wealthy.'
'As it just so happens, Padfoot,' Remus replied, 'I've inherited something of a fortune myself.'
That caught Sirius off guard. 'Really?'
'Apparently James and Lily wanted me to inherit all their gold if anything happened to Harry.'
Sirius nodded. 'That makes sense. So why haven't you done anything with it?'
'It doesn't really belong to me,' Remus said. 'It belongs to Harry.'
Sirius snorted. 'Harry has more than enough gold coming to him as it is.'
'You might have other children, you know.'
Sirius smiled wistfully. 'Unfortunately, Moony, as embarrassing as it is for me for an old ladies' man like me to admit it, Azkaban has made that rather...unlikely.'
Remus turned crimson. 'I see.'
'Even if I did, Harry's going to be quite comfortable off,' Sirius pointed out. 'He's only getting everything from Uncle Alphard, Granddad and Grandfather through me, of course, but Aunt Cassie has no children, so she's decided to leave everything directly to Harry.
Uncle Marius has told me he's planning on doing the same thing-his only son died years ago. At this rate, Harry is on track to become one of the wealthiest wizards in Great Britain. So you can use Harry's gold guilt-free.'
'It's not right,' Remus said quietly. 'That gold should go to Harry, not to me. I've managed until now, and I suspect I'll keep on managing perfectly well.'
Sirius sighed. 'If you say so, Moony.' He paused. 'There's something else we need to talk about, by the way.'
'What's that?'
'I'm concerned about Dumbledore,' Sirius replied. 'I was watching him at the Ministry, and he seemed to be looking at Harry far more often that I should like.'
'Do you think he suspects the truth?' Remus asked.
'I hope not.'
'Why don't we just tell him?' Remus suggested. 'We can tell him what happened with you and Peter, and show him how happy Harry is. Maybe he'd go along with everything.'
Sirius snorted. 'I'm sorry, Moony, but I lost all faith in Dumbledore's wisdom when I learned how hard he fought to keep me in Azkaban.'
'To be fair, he thought you were guilty.'
'He could have spoken with me first,' Sirius growled. 'From what Lucius has told me, Dumbledore's given Snivelly far more of a chance than he ever gave me. Besides, look at what he did to Harry!'
Remus sighed. 'I can't say I'm all that happy with Dumbledore, either, at the moment.' He paused. 'So why do you think he was watching Harry?'
'The truth of the matter is that I have no clue what he's up to, and I don't like it,' Sirius replied. 'I want to do something to remedy that.'
'What do you have in mind?'
Sirius gave Remus a mischievous grin. 'Ever fancy becoming a secret agent, Moony?'
.....
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