Professor Lupin watched Harry tuck the wooden plaque away, a weary smile flickering across his face.
"I've heard tales of the 'Banana-Loving Honey Badger' for years," he said. "His work got me through more than a few dark days. Later, I learned he was actually Hogwarts' Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. Headmaster Dumbledore has told me plenty about him—unique in his approach to magic, and with his own standards for teaching...
I never expected him to be your uncle, though. That never came up before...
Looks like I really ought to find time for a proper chat with him. Hopefully, I'll meet him at Hogwarts this year."
His final words left everyone in the compartment momentarily speechless.
Harry's curiosity got the better of him.
"Professor Lupin, do you know my uncle? He told me he's pretty close with the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor..."
Lupin paused, looking surprised, then seemed to recall something and smiled.
"I've never actually met Professor Holmes in person—just read his work. But he certainly knows the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor quite well. Of course, that's assuming nothing unexpected happens...
Anyway, I need to speak with the driver. You lot carry on."
With that, Lupin strode out of the compartment.
Outside, the Dementors had long since been driven off the train. The sixth- and seventh-years who'd helped chase them away were now surrounded by a cheering crowd.
Percy and Penelope exchanged sweet glances, tracing circles in each other's palms while dutifully repeating,
"Don't hurt them—they're Azkaban guards sent by the Ministry of Magic to inspect the train."
Percy had already received word from Douglas, who'd shared a bit of the truth and allowed him to secretly help Harry with his tasks—so long as he never openly opposed the Ministry. Douglas had even permitted him to tell Penelope, in Dumbledore's name, so they could work together.
Douglas really had gone to great lengths to give his little brother a chance.
Back in the compartment, the lively chatter resumed, with Harry and his friends enthusiastically debating Lupin's last words and the strange business with the Dementors.
Meanwhile, far away in Surrey at the Holmes residence, Douglas Holmes was grumbling under his breath, scribbling furiously on a sheet of parchment. Dobby was nearby, panting from exertion and nibbling on chocolate.
Sirius Black didn't look the least bit embarrassed. After all, he'd traded ten years of freedom for this arrangement. If it weren't for the chance to see Harry regularly, he'd never have agreed to help Douglas with ten years' worth of alchemical research. But neither of them were exactly easy to handle—they'd both been notorious troublemakers at Hogwarts in their day.
The original plan was for Sirius to wait quietly at the Holmes house while Harry investigated the truth, the two communicating via two-way mirror.
(A two-way mirror is a pair of square, magically linked mirrors that allow people to speak to each other from different locations.)
Sirius knew the only known two-way mirrors were at the old Black family home. He and James had often used them to keep in touch, so he was sure Douglas didn't have one. From the start, Sirius had plotted to wriggle out of their agreement and force Douglas to take him to Hogwarts.
He'd spent over a decade in Azkaban—being cooped up at Douglas's house, even if it was a thousand times better than prison, was unbearable without Harry around.
But Sirius hadn't counted on Douglas pulling out a two-way mirror at the last moment. That left him no choice but to shamelessly insist on tagging along to Hogwarts.
Douglas, for his part, realized he should never have trusted a Marauder's word. Expecting Sirius to behave was like expecting Scabbers to turn himself in.
Not bringing Sirius to Hogwarts wasn't about fear of discovery. It was about worrying Sirius might lose control and kill Scabbers too soon.
But if he didn't let Sirius go, Douglas worried he'd sneak off to Hogwarts on his own—unless he was willing to literally chain him up like a dog.
So, after hammering out a comprehensive agreement, Douglas invoked contract magic this time. Unless Sirius wanted to risk Harry's ability to have children, he'd have to stick to the contract.
Of course, Sirius never noticed the fine print Douglas had scrawled in invisible ink: All rights of interpretation belong to Douglas Holmes.
The upshot was that, by now, Douglas should have been back at Hogwarts, sipping tea by his office fireplace, looking forward to the students' reactions.
Instead, he found himself having to create another secret passage connecting Hogwarts to the outside world, all to avoid detection by the castle and Dumbledore.
His mind turned to the Floo Network—not the Ministry's official network, of course, but his own blend of house-elf Apparition, Portkey theory (Portkeys are magically enchanted objects that transport anyone who touches them to a set location, strictly regulated by the Ministry), otherworldly magical teleportation arrays, and the Floo Network itself.
By sidestepping the Ministry and Hogwarts' wards, he could link the fireplace at home directly to his office at Hogwarts.
After all, he couldn't really let Sirius share his office. That would be—well, inappropriate.
So, from midday until evening, Dobby took Douglas on several Apparition trips to the Defence Against the Dark Arts office at Hogwarts. Thankfully, Dumbledore was sensible enough not to treat him as missing and clear out his office.
At last, as night fell, Douglas had sketched out the required runic array. All that remained was to inscribe the runes on both fireplaces.
An hour later, both sets of runes were complete.
He entered all three of their names into a recognition rune—this wasn't just about Hogwarts' safety, but the Holmes family's as well.
With a handful of Floo Powder, all three successfully transported to the Defence Against the Dark Arts office at Hogwarts.
They waited a while to be sure Dumbledore hadn't noticed anything amiss, and that the Ministry hadn't picked up on any disturbances.
Satisfied, Sirius returned to the Holmes house via the fireplace. The two agreed to always check in via two-way mirror before using the passage, making sure no outsiders were around. Dobby, meanwhile, was sent back to his studies.
With this secret passage, Douglas could return to his Surrey home anytime he wished. Poor Dobby, who'd hoped to work with the Hogwarts house-elves, was once again assigned study materials.
What Sirius didn't know was that Douglas had planned to build a secret passage between Hogwarts and his home all along. Otherwise, how could such a complex teleportation array be completed in a single afternoon?
After all, his magical architecture project was already halfway done—he'd need somewhere to test it soon. With all the magical interference at Hogwarts, the experiment could only be run at home.
And now, he'd landed himself a free ten-year employee. Perfect!
Douglas glanced at the time. The Sorting Ceremony should be underway in the Great Hall by now.
He tidied up, changed into fresh robes, and hurried toward the Great Hall.
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