Arturius sat across from Harry in a squishy chair the latter had conjured up. Eye to eye the two were melded in mind and Harry, so as not to hurt Arturius, had entered his mind very slowly.
He was chipping away at the wall he had put up three years ago taking it down brick by brick for the other man to work through his pain and grief. So far they had gotten to the memory of Arturius going to the minister of magic for help. As the two explored the memory together Harry knew that Arturius was treated unfairly by a lot of people in the ministry and in Grindelia's family and even his own father forbade him to see Grindelia at first.
It seemed like the two could never catch a break no matter how hard the two tried. He would leave off here for tonight he thought and broke contact. Arturius was fuming as the two withdrew the link and both sat back.
"Arturius would you like some tea?" Harry asked quietly.
"Tea?" He asked distractedly and then his face softened a bit as he looked at Harry. "Yes, yes that would be fine." He said and tried to smile.
"Dobby tea please." Harry said speaking to thin air and Dobby appeared with tea set in hand and did the honors for the two men.
"Would there be anything else Harry Potter wishes?" Dobby asked hopefully.
"Yes Dobby ask Rinki to fix us something light for dinner please." Harry asked.
"Right away Harry Potter sir." The elf said and disappeared.
"Arturius are you ok?" Harry asked kindly and suddenly he could hear a hint of Albus in his own voice, a bit of the kindness that his old headmaster had shown him when he was still alive.
"Yes, just bad memories are all Harry. I argued with them but they were unreasonable." Arturius said frustrated. "It was almost like they hated us."
"Well I'm sure they didn't sir. What happened was that her father probably paid them off. Sirius has been looking into it all for you along with Severus and Narcissa." Harry said. "Sirius of course is a black sheep among the Blacks and I guess Narcissa would be too."
"Why would he be so against her being happy Harry or for that matter why when he met me was he so against me from the start?" Arturius asked. "And why would my own father be against the match as well? My father never shunned anyone that I remember and Grindelia was so worried about mother not liking her but it was my father who disliked her at once." He said and Harry could see the frustration and anger in his face and eyes.
"You know I once asked Albus why Tom Riddle felt that he had to kill me. It wasn't just the prophecy you know. He would have killed my mother and father and I anyway in time I believe." Harry said. "He was bent on one thing and that was to stamp out love. He wanted to control everything even his own life and death. He never understood love like you and I do Arturius. For him it was an alien thing that hurt him as a hex would hurt him only worse." Harry said.
"Yes but Grindelia was not like the other Blacks." Arturius said. "She wrote beautiful poetry, she loved to sing even though she sang slightly off key but to me it was the sound of an angel. She loved flowers and gardening. She was very much like the things I hear of your own mother Harry." He said looking at the floor.
"My mother? Ah the things you see about her when we share our memories." Harry said understanding. He put those things at the forefront of his mind for Arturius to understand that his mother's sacrifice was of love and hopes so that darkness would not prevail.
"Yes and I cannot understand our families being so unreasonable. We were happy together. We bothered no one and still we were sought out. Tracked down and hunted from place to place almost like animals." Arturius said.
