Harry found that studying under Sirius's guidance progressed surprisingly well, much to his own amazement. To Harry, Sirius was an adult he could truly respect, seeming like a perfect being.
Yet, in the most important aspect for Harry, Sirius failed to understand his feelings. Harry was troubled by Sirius's attempts to involve him with Muggles.
(I hate Muggles, though. Why does Sirius want me to associate with them?)
Sirius was apparently cracking down on dark magical artifacts and illegal potions that acted like narcotics in the Muggle world. Since August began, his work had intensified, reducing the frequency of lessons for Harry. Still, Sirius would ask if Harry was playing with wizard friends or Muggle children.
"It's fine. I've been playing with Muggles too..."
Harry was lying to Sirius. He only played with wizard friends and never approached Muggle kids. Harry had casually complained to Zabini, Falcas, and Azrael about Sirius's fondness for Muggles.
"Sirius just doesn't get it. He tells me to get along with Muggles, but... sure, Christina's a good person? But I wish he'd consider my hatred for Muggles a bit more."
"That's rather rude, hating someone who's been polite to you."
Azrael was ever the voice of reason, engaging in Harry's conversation as long as it didn't contradict Slytherin virtues. He didn't deny disliking Muggles but insisted on treating decent people properly.
"...I know. I get that Christina's a good person. But Sirius doesn't think about my feelings."
Harry couldn't voice his complaints directly to Sirius. Now that he'd left the Dursleys, he couldn't express dissatisfaction with his only guardian. So, feeling guilty, he vented to his friends.
"Do adults not consider how it feels to have something you hate shoved in your face?"
During this summer break, Harry reunited with Ron, Hermione, and Draco, but he felt only these three could hear his grievances.
(Draco and Daphne are probably pure-blood purists... Ron likes Muggles. Hermione... her parents are Muggles...)
Friends who were neither extreme pure-bloodists nor Muggle-lovers were just these three for Harry. He wanted to share his Muggle hatred with them, but without linking it to twisted ideas. If he thought it was okay to harm Muggles with magic and acted on it, he'd get expelled and become just like the hated Dudley.
"Is Sirius pure-blood?"
Falcas tilted his head.
"It's weird for him to like Muggles despite that..."
"He's from Gryffindor. He doesn't understand Slytherin feelings."
Zabini crossed his arms. He disliked Muggles too but admired Sirius, so he was sympathetic to Harry's words.
"Sirius said he doesn't care about bloodlines. After that party, owls came from various places, but that's it."
"Come to think of it, lots of women approached him..."
"Most were probably marriage proposals, no doubt."
At Harry's words, Azrael seized the chance to change the topic. Complaining about hating Muggles was proper for a Slytherin, but to Azrael, it wasn't rational. He redirected Harry's thoughts once.
"It'd be nice if it works out. If Sirius marries, she'll become your stepmother, right?"
"You're just hoping to become relatives yourself."
Azrael smiled meaningfully and shrugged. Naturally, Azrael's family was among those proposing to Sirius.
"...Who knows."
Harry vaguely thought it would be good for Sirius if he married, but he had no real sense of gaining a mother. Yet, Azrael's words sparked a thought.
(Maybe I'll get a sibling...)
"Either way, no need to worry. If it works, she'll be a witch, and if not, Sirius will refuse. No loss for you, Harry."
"Yeah. The people coming there are witches."
Azrael watched Harry's visibly relieved expression with a cool gaze.
(Harry's mentality is quite damaged...)
At Hogwarts, Harry hadn't revealed his Muggle hatred. Until Draco exposed him, Harry hadn't been discriminatory toward Muggles.
But now, after a year of friendship, he'd opened up to Azrael and the others about it. It was flattering that he trusted them, but to Azrael, Harry seemed headed in a strange direction.
To such a Harry, Zabini offered advice.
"Muggles are basically trash, but there are good ones like that Christina, right?"
"...Yeah."
Harry nodded reluctantly. Christina Smirnov had never treated him badly. Harry had to admit not all Muggles were evil.
That said, he hated what he hated. Harry wouldn't budge on that.
"Then think of her as an exceptional good Muggle. That's what I did with Granger at first."
"...You did...?"
Harry was surprised by Zabini's words.
"After talking, I realized she's a witch. Right? There can't be many Muggles like that."
"But Muggles and Muggle-borns are different."
Harry said it almost reflexively.
"I know that. It's an analogy. Don't nitpick."
"Sorry."
Harry apologized to Zabini.
"Well, Muggles can't become witches, but... if they're someone you can talk to, talk properly. You gotta follow that logic."
Zabini brushed back his bangs, unusually avoiding crude words. As a friend's advice, it motivated Harry to try again.
Azrael's advice hit Harry's psychology more directly. He offered to be a practice partner in place of Muggles.
"For Sirius's sake, you don't want to be rude to Muggles, right? If it's okay with me, I'll help practice various etiquettes."
"Thanks, Bloom. Falcas, want to practice with me?"
"Yeah... Wait? Harry, do I have to too?"
"Give it up. You're one of the four; no escaping alone."
"That's so Black..."
During the summer, Harry couldn't erase his Muggle prejudice. Instead, he learned from Azrael how to not show it, practicing manners he used with Muggles.
"My dad calls it Occlumency."
Azrael said.
"Control your mind so others can't read it, and act without rudeness. I can only do the basics; I panic and it falls apart."
Harry, Zabini, and Falcas learned the technique under Azrael's guidance. Harry enjoyed learning not just wand magic but mind control, but sadly, he progressed slowest in Occlumency among the three.
＊＊＊
Sirius Black was exhausted from his grueling work. He'd been cracking down on wizards colluding with Muggle crime syndicates to distribute narcotic potions, then handling the aftermath nonstop.
With You-Know-Who's fall, the wizarding world was more peaceful than the dark times. Back then, larger crime organizations would have overrun the country uncontrollably.
But even in peace, as long as supply and demand existed, such crimes wouldn't vanish. By relentlessly pursuing criminals, Sirius relieved his stress and welcomed his days off.
Lately, Harry had started playing with Muggle kids. His frequent laughs and tanned skin made him look like a healthy boy his age. Sirius credited Jürgen Smirnov and his wife Christina, mistakenly believing Harry's prejudice had nearly vanished.
(...Alright. Time for the next step.)
Sirius decided to educate Harry immediately. His work was in a lull, but the next syndicate battle loomed. He wanted to teach Harry while he had time. Children were impressionable, and Harry's circle had dark temptations. He needed to warn Harry about the dangers of embracing pure-bloodism, dark arts, or dark organizations.
Sirius Apparated with Harry to Grimmauld Place, his family home. It was Harry's second visit, but he'd never entered the house before.
"Hey, Sirius. Is it okay to go in?"
"No. It's not okay."
Sirius's eyes burned with intensity. Seeing that gaze, Harry fell silent. He was drawn to Sirius's strong conviction and wanted to fulfill his wishes—except for liking Muggles.
"Harry. Today, I'll teach you the dark side of pure-bloodism. You've probably heard the positives in Slytherin."
"Yeah. Carrow and Draco say it's to preserve wizard traditions and culture. I didn't think it was that great, though."
"Really?"
Sirius sounded surprised. He'd heard from his cousin Andromeda how hard it was to resist pure-bloodism in Slytherin.
"...Because the top witch in our year is Muggle-born, and she's my friend. I was born to a Muggle-born mother. How could I become a pure-bloodist?"
"That's the spirit! Good job, James. It's crucial to think for yourself, not get swept by your environment, and form your own answers."
(...Huh?)
Sirius often praised Harry. He didn't notice calling him James. It was unconscious.
(...Must be my imagination, right?)
Harry dismissed it as a mishearing. Sirius soon called him by name and guided him through the house.
"I'm not insulting your friends. Not all pure-bloodism is bad... I can't say that now."
Deep down, Sirius wanted to denounce it all but held back for Harry's friends.
"What I'll show is the worst case. ...But the end for those who fanatically believe in pure-bloodism is never good. My family was ruined that way."
Sirius showed a house destroyed by devotion to one ideology. Once opulent, the uninhabited manor had become a wretched, trash-filled ruin. Harry followed as Sirius casually repaired it with his wand. Entering a room with portraits, a terrifying old woman's painting hurled insults at them.
"Who are you!!"
She screamed, initially glaring fiercely. But upon seeing Sirius, her face twisted demonically.
"How dare you show your face, traitor!! Shame on you for letting filthy Muggle blood cross the threshold!! You failure—"
Sirius waved his wand, forcibly silencing the portrait. Harry felt sick. Her dehumanizing curses reminded him of Vernon.
"My mother. By blood."
Sirius's tone was flat. Harry was speechless, unsure what to say.
(This place... it's like the Dursleys' house.)
Harry realized clearly. For Sirius, this was a prison like the Dursleys' for him.
Touring the house and its contents, Harry learned from Sirius the fate of those obsessed with pure-bloodism. He had no intention of joining anyway, but now he even pitied the Blacks.
(How did it get this bad?)
The answer came soon. Sirius led Harry to his brother's room—Regulus Black, who joined the Death Eaters and died.
As Sirius moved forward, unpleasant muttering echoed.
"...The Azkaban escapee prowls the house. With an unknown child. What is this? Nothing like the master..."
A house-elf like Dobby, but with a more hostile gaze, eyed Harry appraisingly. Harry recoiled at the sight.
"Kreacher. This is Harry Potter. Treat him courteously as my son."
"Understood, master."
Kreacher bowed perfunctorily, then muttered resentments against Sirius, blocking Regulus's room.
"Um... Kreacher. Nice to meet you, I'm Harry Potter. Sorry for wandering your house uninvited."
Harry spoke politely on instinct. Kreacher showed displeasure and rejected him, yet seemed intrigued by Harry's defeat of the Dark Lord.
"...Still as unpleasant as ever. Move, Kreacher. I have business."
Kreacher resisted the order, pretending to punish himself. Harry overlapped him with Dobby and felt pity.
House-elves were obedient to masters, as Azrael taught. Thus, Kreacher's attitude revealed extraordinary hostility toward Sirius.
"Stop, Sirius. Let him stop. I don't want to go further..."
"...Fine. Stop, Kreacher."
Sirius healed Kreacher's wounds with his wand after he ceased. Then, he asked if Kreacher knew a house-elf named Dobby.
"No. This Kreacher does not know that house-elf, master."
"...I see. Fine. Impressive loyalty as always, Kreacher."
Kreacher gave no info on Dobby. Finishing questions, Sirius moved to leave as if done.
"Wait, Sirius."
Harry stopped him unwittingly.
"What about Kreacher?"
Harry envisioned Kreacher alone in this vast house. He was unpleasant and rude, but overlapping with Dobby stirred slight sympathy.
(It's natural Sirius hates him, but...)
Harry disliked Kreacher at first sight too, but leaving him alone felt pitiful.
"House-elves stay with the house. That's their nature. Guard this place, Kreacher. That's an order."
"As you wish, master."
Kreacher accepted the vague command, then muttered curses: disloyal for not protecting the house, failing noble duties.
Harry wondered if to tell Kreacher about Sirius possibly marrying, from Azrael's talk. Guarding alone without knowing his master's life seemed too sad.
Learning the worst outcome, Harry resolved against pure-bloodism. Yet, he worried how to prevent his friends from such a fate.
Harry would visit this house again that year, seeing Kreacher's shocked face—something he didn't know yet.
If consulted Ron or Hermione → Straight-laced lecture leading to definite huge fight, but they'd try to reform Harry.
If consulted Draco or Daphne → Fuel Harry's Muggle hatred, leading to pure-bloodism conversion. Landmine.
If consulted the three roommates (essentially OCs) → Basically, acknowledge the hate but advise treating them decently regardless. Obvious advice.
---------------------------------------------------------
🚀 Want more?
📖 Unlock 10+ early chapters on my Patreon!
💖 Support me here: patreon.com/DaoistRoeoNQ
🔓 Get ahead of the story today!