IF HE WAS BEING COMPLETELY HONEST, Harry had hoped that Charlus and Sirius would have taken more action against the Dursleys before they left. After years of feeling isolated in a home where three other people lived and being mistreated like he was a lesser being, he had hoped for some form of justice beyond a scolding. However, Charlus didn't appear to be that kind of person. He didn't need threats of violence to scare the Dursleys, his words seemed to do enough.
When Charlus walked out of the Dursley home to reunite with Sirius and Harry, he wore a smile on his face, but his eyes still contained a sadness that even Harry noticed. He looked over at Sirius, who was holding all of Harry's belongings under his arm and let out a heavy sigh. And even though they weren't saying anything to each other, Harry was certain they were haven't a conversation.
Eventually, Charlus placed his hand on Harry's shoulder again. "Are you ready to leave, Harry?"
There was no need to ask twice as Harry nodded his head eagerly. Of course, he was ready to leave, he had been ready to leave as soon as he understood how terribly the Dursleys treated him.
"Alright, well listen, this is very important," Charlus told him, " I need you to hang onto Sirius as tight as you possibly can. We're going to leave here and you're going to be uncomfortable for a moment. It's not painful, but it's going to feel like you're being pulled through a very tight tube. Do you understand?"
As his eyes flickered back and forth between the two men, it was clear that Harry did not understand and he was becoming nervous.
"We're not taking a car or the train?"
"No," Sirius chuckled, " this is much faster. Come on, hold my hand, you're going to be fine."
Harry still didn't appear to be very comfortable but offered his hand for Sirius to take. He watched as Charlus stood on Sirius' other side and before he could say anything, it was like they were ripped from the scene. His uncle's previous words of warning suddenly made sense, it really did feel like he was being sucked through a tight space. And although it was incredibly uncomfortable, it didn't last for long as seconds later, he could feel his feet touch the ground once more.
He clung to Sirius' side, breathing heavily, and he didn't dare to ask what had just happened, he just knew he didn't want to experience it again.
"I tried to warn you, Harry," Charlus laughed at the look on his nephew's face, " it's a little strange at first, but the more you do it, the easier it gets."
Harry was about to tell him that he never wanted to do it again until he looked up and noticed they were no longer in front of 4 Privet Drive, but rather a completely new setting. There was a row of handsome townhouses before them, lined up in a row. When he thought about how quick the weird suction feeling had been, it couldn't have been enough for them to travel to a completely new place, it had only been a matter of seconds.
But then Harry thought about how Sirius had waved the stick in his hand and summoned his bag of belongings, which sailed through the air.
"What are you?" Harry asked as he took a step back from them. "How did we get here? Where are we?"
"Sirius," Charlus called out, " let's get him inside and then you go and get the others. Harry, I'll explain everything to you once we go inside, alright? Come on, everything is going to be okay. I already promised you that, didn't I?"
Charlus himself had never stepped foot into 12 Grimmauld Place, he had only heard stories about it when growing up with Sirius. However, it was far off what he had imagined. It gave off a cold yet, sophisticated air of the aristocratic Black family. Harry was still recovering from witnessing a townhouse appear between the already established buildings as Sirius led the way to enter. As they entered through the door, they were met with a long hallway, dimly lit by old gas lamps, and a large chandelier hanging overhead.
To little Harry, it was like walking into a haunted house. He could hear the floor creak beneath every step he took and he could hardly see where he was going to begin with as his vision had always been blurry, and now it was dark on top of everything. He stumbled twice, but each time Charlus caught him and kept him up on his own two feet.
When they reached the end of the hallway, there was a large staircase but the three finally came to a stop.
"We'll wait here until you come back with everyone," Charlus told Sirius. "Hurry before they start to worry."
Sirius didn't like the idea of leaving Charlus and Harry alone with his mother and Kreacher in the home, but he knew there was no point in arguing. After all, Charlus would insist that he could manage and they would be just fine until he returned.
"Alright, my mother is upstairs and I'm sure Kreacher is not going to leave her side. But if he bothers you, let me know and I'll deal with him when I get back."
Once they were left alone, Charlus turned to Harry, who looked to be a mixture of scared, excited, overwhelmed, and tired.
"I know this is a lot to take in, Harry, but once you get a basic understanding, it will all make sense and become second nature to you."
Harry turned his back to Charlus for a moment, craning his neck to look around the corner. Then his side faced his uncle as he started asking questions about where they were and what exactly was going on. But before he could continue, he felt Charlus reach under his chin and direct him to make eye contact.
"Harry, you need to be facing me when you talk, otherwise, I don't know what you're saying," Charlus said, " I can't hear you or anyone for that matter."
"You can't? But you can talk!"
With a snort, Charlus nodded his head to agree that, indeed, he could talk. "Yes, I can. But that doesn't mean I can hear. But you know how you can read a book, well, I can do that with your lips when you talk. I can read the words if I can see your mouth. You just have to make sure I'm looking at you if you want me to 'listen'."
"Can Sirius hear me?"
"Yes," Charlus let out a laugh, " he can hear you. So you can always call on him too. Now, before things get hectic, I need you to listen for a minute. You saw a lot happen today and I know you don't understand all of it. But to make it simple, what you saw today is magic."
"Magic?" Harry repeated in awe. "You can do magic?"
"Yes, I can and you can too. That's why we're called wizards."
Perhaps Harry thought it was all a joke for a minute until he realised what he had witnessed earlier. Suddenly, it didn't seem like Charlus was attempting to pull a prank on him. But it was one thing to claim that he and Sirius were wizards, it was another to say that Harry himself was one.
"Your Aunt Petunia told me there were a couple of times that strange things happened around you. Do you remember turning your teacher's hair blue?"
"I didn't touch her, I swear!" Harry cried out, remembering just how much trouble he had gotten into over the incident. "She kept yelling at me to read what was on the board in class, but I couldn't see it. She said I was being naughty, but I wasn't. I couldn't see and she kept yelling at me and then...then her hair turned blue. Everyone said it was my fault, but I didn't do anything."
"Shhh...Harry, stop, it's not your fault, I wasn't saying that it was a bad thing," Charlus tried to calm him down so they didn't attract the attention of Walburga upstairs. "I was just giving you an example that you can do magic too. See, sometimes, when wizards and witches are happy or sad or angry, things can happen around them."
"Like when you were angry earlier and the lights flickered?"
"Exactly," he smiled, "you get better at controlling it when you're older, but right now you're young, so your magic is a bit all over the place. But you'll learn to do what we can do in due time."
"You're my father's brother, right? Does that mean he was a wizard too?"
"Yes, he was a wizard, an amazing one and your mother was a brilliant witch. Never forget that."
Just mentioning James even without using his name made Charlus feel slightly emotional. Wherever James and Lily were, he hoped they could see that their son was finally safe. He hoped that they could breathe a sigh of relief. And when he looked off into the distance, it was Harry that directed him to look back, using his hand the same way Charlus had guided him before.
"Is what Uncle Vernon said true? Did magic kill my parents? They told me it was a car crash first."
"In this world, Harry, there is good magic and there is bad magic, it depends on the person who is using it. Your parents, myself, Sirius, and the others that you meet, we all use magic for good. We use it to help others. But there are some wizards and witches that use magic to do bad things. Your parents were very brave and fought witches and wizards that used magic to do bad things. Do you understand?"
Harry nodded slowly and Charlus couldn't ignore the frown that developed on the little boy's lips.
"And they did die, Harry. They died being brave because they wanted you to grow up in a safer world. And it's okay to be sad about it too because I still get very sad about it as well."
Upstairs, Walburga remained silent as she heard the voices of Charlus and Harry echoing through her home. She attempted to ignore their conversation, but she couldn't help but listen to what Charlus told Harry in regards to 'good' and 'bad' magic.
"Do not listen to them, Mistress," Kreacher scoffed, " nonsense all of it. All of it non-"
"Be quiet, Kreacher!"
Kreacher stopped, alarmed by Walburga's reaction as she was normally the first to curse any 'mudblood' or 'blood-traitor' that crossed her mind. Now their home was being invaded by blood-traitors and she didn't partake in her usual insults. It left the poor house-elf confused but he quickly obeyed falling silent and standing completely still by Walburga's bedside.
Charlus didn't even notice he had been crying until Harry reached out and wiped away several tears that fell. His own emerald gaze was watery as well, but he seemed to be fighting back his tears as much as possible.
"Did bad magic make you sick?" Harry asked him. "Is that why you were gone all this time?"
"Yes, I had to be in hospital for a while. The bad magic made me very sleepy and I had to sleep for a long time. But when I woke up, I knew I had to come and get you right away. I was so excited to see you again. I couldn't wait, and that's why I sent you a letter."
"You used an owl!"
"I did! That's how witches and wizards communicate. We use owls to bring letters back and forth. You're going to see a lot of exciting things from now on. But before we get into all this magic, there are some people that I want you to meet. They're all very excited to meet you too."
Harry had been so intrigued by owls delivering the post that he ignored the sounds of the arrivals coming through the front, but Charlus had noticed the movement of shadows coming down the hall. With a smile, he grabbed Harry gently and spun the boy around to see all the new faces that had come to meet him.
"Harry, I want you to meet your family."