Sirius Black entered with a wide grin and a doggish shake of his head, sending little chunks of soot over the office.
"Sirius, my boy! It's wonderful to see you." He went ahead and poured them both a glass of whiskey. He deserved it. Sirius did not complain except with a raised eyebrow at the generous portions but took one and they clinked their glasses together.
"Rough day then, Dumbledore?" He said with a wince after they both downed a shot.
"Indeed. I'm afraid that's why I've asked you to visit. Firstly, allow me to congratulate you again in person on your freedom."
Sirius withheld a groan. He had been dreading this conversation. Dumbledore was about to deny any personal wrongdoing or control he had over the situation, while still maintaining that he'd always thought Sirius was innocent without ever doing jack shit to help him. Then he was probably going to ask Sirius for some sort of favor.
"I was deeply saddened to hear of your circumstances. I had been dealing with finding a loving home for young Harry, you see. And by the time I returned you had already been imprisoned."
"Mhm," was all Sirius could muster.
"Of course, I never doubted the bond between yourself and James Potter. Your friendship was inspiring, and you were a devoted auror and member of the Order."
"Mhm."
"Speaking of the Potters, have you had a chance to speak with dear young Harry yet?"
Sirius felt his hackles rise in defense of his godson - the kid who was damn near his own flesh and blood at this point. What little trust he'd had for the man in regards to his kid had vanished thirteen years ago on the Dursley's doorstep.
"Yes," he said, choosing his words carefully. "I wrote to him a bit during school and I've been to visit a few times now. His mum invited me to his birthday and I think I'll take him and his friends to the World Cup after."
"Ah, excellent! What do you think of Miss Adams?"
"She's nice," Sirius said in an even tone. "She and Harry get along well."
"Good, good. She's a very private individual. I can't find much information about her. Do you think she's trustworthy in the way she's raising Harry?"
"What do you mean?"
"Have you any ideas about her political views?"
"She isn't a Death Eater," Sirius assured him. "She calls Voldemort a 'prissy little bitch' on occasion, and she hasn't taught Harry to agree with his beliefs either. I've met Miss Granger who I know I don't need to inform you is muggleborn."
"Of course, I don't mean to imply either of them were prejudiced. Moreso, I was concerned about some rumors that Harry and his friends might be practicing Dark magic. Harry certainly has a troubling aura for such a young child, and Miss Adams is… unique."
It was obvious, and very sweet really, how much the two cared for each other. That she was a competent mother was not under question, but there had been a barrage of strange occurrences at the school and it was not adding up. Harry was an odd child, who easily handled dangerous scenarios, was not as empathetic as was normal, was overpowered for his age, and was constantly disappearing. That the string of evidence leading to the suicide of Madame Umbridge could all be tentatively linked back to the boy was currently less of a theory and more of a hunch.
The young students who had been cursed had blamed Miss Lovegood, a known companion of Harry but then changed their story after the suicide. Not to mention that Umbridge had claimed she'd done it as a hate crime against muggleborns, when neither of the two victims were such. Madame Umbridge's evidence had all been photographed by a Gryffindor student under orders of Mister Weasley.
Now, Umbridge had admitted to it and she was certainly the type to do such a terrible thing, even if it was to the wrong victims, Dumbledore could not rule out that the woman was very stupid. But there was something off about Harry and his adopted mother. Something he did not usually notice outside the likes of Dark wizards.
Again, he could not find an ounce of proof except for rumor and the particular type of dread that arose when dealing with the most unsavory.
How he had not noticed the severity before, he did not know, but he felt in his gut that something was off, and Dumbledore was a very smart and powerful wizard who had absolutely never been wrong about anything before.
"I haven't noticed anything," Sirius said, as though he had not spent his morning waist-deep in Death Eater bones, arguing with ghosts about Voldemort's childhood. How the old man could not sense the Darkness which rolled easily off of Sirius, he wasn't sure. Perhaps he thought it was the remnants of his time in Azkaban, but either way, surely he knew Sirius himself was far too neutrally aligned to be the person to have this conversation with. "The kids haven't given me any impression that they aren't normal kids. Maybe the aura is from when Voldemort attacked him? Or his fight with that basilisk?"
"That could be the case. Hmm. Has Harry reported any pain or unusual feelings emanating from his scar?" Dumbledore inquired, hopeful for this new angle. It could very well be the result of their connection through Harry's scar. No one had ever survived the Killing Curse after all, and he did not know what spell or ritual Lily had used to protect him, and Voldemort had dabbled in obscure magic. Who knew what Darkness might result from that Halloween night?
"No? Shouldn't you be asking Allie or Harry about this -"
"Oh, no. I don't want to give them any unnecessary worries. It's just a hunch I have about Harry and a possible connection to Voldemort -"
"That really sounds like something you should bring up to them," Sirius repeated, cutting him off and a bit flabbergasted at the man's chronic unwillingness to speak plainly. Had it always been this bad and Sirius had not noticed, content to receive whatever scrap of information Dumbledore deigned to grant him?
"I had not realized you and Miss Adams were familiar enough for nicknames," Dumbledore continued in a probing voice, giving Sirius a scrupulous look. He had assumed the man would be eager to reinsert himself into Harry's life, but if he had also become friendly with Adams, that could prove to be a problem. Sirius had a reputation back in his school days. Surely he had not positioned himself to be Harry's pseudo-stepfather? Although, that meant he could take advantage of their closeness to learn more about whatever Adams was planning.
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