Sirius sighed and sat back, looking at Albus pensively. "I'm angry at you, Albus."
The use of his given name didn't go unnoticed by Albus; it was the first time since they had talked that Sirius had consented to use it. He felt a stirring of hope.
"If Harry had been inclined to pursue a prosecution against the Dursleys, and if it wouldn't have completely destabilised our society which considers you a moral icon, I would have encouraged him to bring charges against you too for child endangerment and neglect." Sirius informed him briskly.
Albus flinched sharply.
"You have three important positions in our society, but you have made serious errors of judgement both as Chief Warlock and as Headmaster of Hogwarts." Sirius continued. "Any other person would have resigned following the disclosure that they had failed to give an innocent man a trial yet both you, and Crouch for that matter, have wriggled out of it, placing the blame on Bagnold who is dead and can't defend herself."
Another flinch; he couldn't deny it.
Sirius motioned at Albus. "Your decisions as Headmaster, certainly for Harry's first year if not his second, should also have led to dismissal." He pinned Albus with a hard grey stare. "Again, a noble man would have resigned." He sat back. "Yet, I can't deny that if Voldemort is attempting to rise again, if you were not Headmaster, he'd consider Hogwarts as vulnerable and so I can't demand you to do the noble thing in repayment for all the crap you've put Harry through."
Albus breathed out a little.
"And I'm mostly not the injured party." Sirius continued. "Harry believes you care about him and I…I have attempted to maintain that impression while trying to explain your actions or inaction when he's questioned it – such as your decision not to look in on him after you placed him with the Dursleys. In truth, I rather think he's already forgiven you. Personally I think he's too forgiving because of the self-esteem issues that living with the Dursleys have left him with. But he has too few people in his life who he believes genuinely care for him and I won't deny him any one of those people."
"I will offer him an unreserved apology." Albus said quickly.
Sirius nodded. "Understand this, Albus; Harry is mine to protect now. You're done making decisions about his home, his life and his future. I don't believe that prophecies are written in stone. I will do everything I can to remove Voldemort from existence so Harry doesn't have to face him again. You get in the way of that and I don't care how powerful you are, you and I will come to blows."
Albus bristled slightly at the tone but he knew Sirius meant every word of it and was quite capable of carrying out his threat. Albus was the more powerful wizard but Sirius had shown a sneakiness that had completely overturned all of Albus's plans within the space of a mere month. "I promise to work with you, Sirius, and I promise to do better in sharing and listening to others."
Sirius harrumphed and there was a definite air of 'I'll believe it when I see it' as he got to his feet. "I have to get back to Harry and I think we're done for today." He gestured at the report still on the desk while placing the parchment on the horcruxes back in his desk. "That's your copy."
Albus stifled the urge to ask to see Harry, his want to know where Harry was so that he could monitor him. He picked up the report and let Sirius walk him to the floo. They exchanged brief words of goodbye before Albus entered the flames.
He walked out of the fireplace and into his office at Hogwarts; Fawkes trilled a comforting welcome. He placed the report on his desk, his fingers tracing over it thoughtfully. He wondered if he dared read it, and knew that he would. He had been a Gryffindor once and it was only right that he learn of the consequences of his decision. He glanced over to the set of monitoring instruments and waved his wand to shut down all but the one that kept track of Harry's life force.
He wandered over to the window to look over the grounds, letting the soothing familiarity of the school ease him. His plans were smashed to smithereens, Albus considered with wry amusement. Unsurprisingly when dealing with the Marauders, for he had no doubt that Remus had played his part in the scheme and would continue to do so. The group had been the best of their generation with the exception of Pettigrew who had been inclined to laziness – and their generation had been exceptional; Severus, Lily, Alice – so many wonderful witches and wizards.
It was easy to see the bare bones of Sirius's plan from the events at the Wizengamot; he intended to shut down Tom's second grab for power before it began. The DOM would deal with the horcruxes, the DMLE with the Death Eaters, and the Ministry and Wizengamot would reshape the political and financial landscape and make it unfriendly to Tom, less of a breeding ground for followers which would make recruitment more difficult for him. It was a good plan despite Albus's concerns that it involved too many people knowing critical information.
But Albus felt almost adrift – he no longer held the rudder but was reduced to a passenger in the boat. Oh, he had no doubt he would contribute – especially to the horcrux hunt and to the politics (he did have some sway on the Light side) – and no doubt his expertise would be valued but…he sighed heavily.
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