The Man Who Knew Almost Nothing

Chapter Seven

On the subject of family and Sirius Black

Early the following morning, having remembered his resolve to cure Gilderoy of his magical amnesia, Harry crept from bed, tossed on some clothes, and went to find Hedwig to send a couple of letters. The first was a request to the Ministry of Magic on Gilderoy’s behalf in order to get his wand back. He knew that Percy would probably be willing to put a rush on the request for him and for old times’ sake. That particular Weasley would never break a rule for anyone, but he could push paper with the best of them. The second letter was to Hermione on the subject of undoing or reversing a memory charm. He knew that the wizards and witches of St. Mungo’s had tried and failed, but Harry had a special sort of faith in his dear friend Hermione. She had solved many problems during their school years, some more daunting and some more hopeless than this. And he knew that she would be only too glad to help.

Harry watched Hedwig wing her way out the window and across the open fields outside and knew that the only thing left to do was wait and enjoy the waiting with Gilderoy, whom he could hear yawning in the bedroom.

“Harry, I know this is going to sound like a strange question,” Gilderoy prefaced as they ate breakfast after having a brief shower together, “while I was in the hospital, some of the mediwitches talked about their families, their children, their parents, brothers and sisters.” Harry, his mouth full of egg, motioned for him to continue, wondering where the inquiry would lead. “Do you have any family, Harry?” he asked.

Harry nearly choked on his eggs, but when he recovered, he answered simply, “Not really.”

And tried to hide the anguish in his eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“My mum and dad were killed by Voldemort. I was an only child. I have some distant muggle, non-magical, relations, but we are not on speaking terms. Wretched, horrible people. Hate anyone and everyone who is the least bit different than them.” Harry explained. Then he paused. “I do have a godfather though. And ... I love him dearly. He had a bad time of it, so he’s not around so much these days.”

“Tell me about him then,” said Gilderoy. Harry frowned. “Harry, I know so little about you. I know you love Quidditch and that you must be quite good at it. I know you are very devoted to your friends. I know that you’re an important person. But, Harry, really ... I don’t know very much about anything, but I feel like I know the least about the man I love.”

Harry smiled and reached across the table to squeeze his hand before telling him, “Well, when you put it that way, I just can’t refuse.” He sipped his orange juice and sighed. “Sirius Black. That’s my godfather’s name. Sirius was my father’s best friend. He was in prison for a long time. Twelve years, I believe, for a crime he didn’t commit.”

“Twice as long as I was at the hospital,” Gilderoy interjected. “Poor man.”

“Yeah. Then he escaped to try and prove his innocence and look out for me.”

“Brave,” commented Gilderoy.

“He was a Gryffindor,” Harry shrugged. “Sirius went through a lot. Years of hiding that only ended last year when Voldemort was destroyed and Peter Pettigrew was captured. Pettigrew had framed Sirius. Now Sirius lives in London. We write from time to time, but ... it hasn’t been easy for him. Most of his friends are dead and gone, and he had a terrible time of it himself, of course .”

“Why isn’t he here with you then?”

“Sirius wanted to help me in my final duel, but ... because of the Ministry of Magic being after him, he wasn’t able to make it in time. The battle was a close one. I wasn’t exactly in peek condition afterward. He blamed himself. Sirius carries the burdens of the world sometimes. I invited him to stay here, but he wouldn’t come.”

“Are you his only family too?”

“I think I might be. His family disowned him when he went to prison ... and his parents died while he was on the inside. I don’t know of any siblings, but his closest friend still teaches at Hogwarts. Remus Lupin, who got your job incidentally, goes to visit him every other weekend, but ... Remus says that the years in Azkaban changed Sirius a lot more than we realized during the war,” said Harry with a heavy sigh. “It’s sad really. The whole world celebrates and Sirius Black crawls into a basement apartment to waste away.”

“Can’t you fix it, Harry?” asked Gilderoy.

“I tried, but ... the war, the years of fear, the years of prison ... I don’t think anyone could fix that. Remus says that they were lovers once, but could never quite trust each other. He thought Sirius was going over to the other side and vice versa. It takes more than a little passion for a relationship to wor,.” said Harry with a smile.

“A lot of passion then?”

“And trust, honesty, and ... maybe something of a miracle. But I think the ability to trust one another is the most important thing. Not that I’m knocking passion,” chuckled Harry.

“Do we have that?”

“I think we’re getting there, Gilderoy.”

As they finished their breakfast, Gilderoy posed another question: “Harry, do you suppose I have any family?”

“I don’t know. One would think that ...” he began to say, pausing when he realized how hard Gilderoy might take the statement, “if you had any family they would have visited you in the hospital at the least.” Harry chose not to say it.

“Yes?”

“I was raised by muggles. I still don’t know as much about the great wizarding houses as I should, so I can’t say for sure whether or not you have any family left.”

Gilderoy looked a little dispirited as he began clearing the table.

“It’s not that I need to know or anything, but sometimes I just wonder if I have any connection with anyone out there. Am I alone?”

“You are never alone, Gilderoy. I will always be with you,” said Harry. Gilderoy smiled and tears filled his eyes. “None of that,” Harry warned, putting an arm around his shoulders.

“Sorry,” he sniffed.

“Tell you what, this afternoon we can go to the archives in London and check the thing there ... the ancestral rolls of the wizarding houses,” said Harry, recalling Draco Malfoy once making mention of the document in very haughty tones. According to what Harry knew, it contained the family trees of all the magical families of England and was very up to date.

“And that will help me find out about my family?”

“I can almost guarantee it,” said Harry with a smile. Something told him that Gilderoy wasn’t likely to have been muggle-born.

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