Approaching the wand shop, Dudley was afraid that none of them would "work" in his hands.
Ollivander, who floated out of the dusty gloom of the depths of his shop, frightened the fair-haired boy so much that his knees began to shake. The wandmaker's eyes, shining white, briefly examined the two boys and stopped with concern on the dark-haired Gryffindor.
Mister Potter, for what reason have you come to me so early? Don't tell me something has gone wrong with your wand.
-No, no! – Harry took the initiative in conducting the conversation. – My wand is perfectly fine, but my cousin had a spontaneous magical outburst and we decided ...
Master Ollivander raised his hand to stop further explanations, asking a question:
And has your cousin received a letter from Hogwarts?
And do you sell wands only to those who are going to study at Hogwarts, sir? – Harry parried. – My cousin is twelve years old, he had a magical outburst, he needs a wand, either you sell us what we need, or we leave to buy somewhere else.
Of course, Mister Potter, of course, I will sell. There is no need to go to other makers. Did you see the sign? "The very best maker..."
Those are only words, sir. Only words, - without taking the tenacious gaze of his green eyes from Master Ollivander's whitened face, Harry nudged Dudley with his elbow so that he would step forward and said – My brother, Dudley Frederick Dursley.
In the evening, when all the business in Diagon Alley had been settled and Petunia with the two boys came out of the "Leaky Cauldron," not far from it, having stopped the car with the hazard lights on, Vernon was waiting for them.
He was given directions to Grimmauld Place and after an exhausting wait in traffic jams, in the dark, they reached the old mansion of the godfather's family, located at number 12.
Lady Walburga had not expected guests so soon, but she was not surprised by the appearance of the relatives of the boy Harry.
When she was informed of Sirius's death in St. Mungo's, she shed a tear, but whether she was a woman with a cold heart, or portraits are less sensitive, her grief was short-lived and she became more interested in the plans of the new head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black after the funeral of her eldest son in the family crypt.
Sirius Black was buried in the family cemetery, in the family crypt, located among ancient trees near the park of Black Manor, which had passed to Harry Potter by will from the last Lord Black – Sir Arcturus. The crypt of white marble was surrounded by statues resembling angels and saints – or not-saints, but wizards – for the boy it was not important.
Inside, among the sarcophagi, silence, gloom and coolness reigned.
No fewer than thirty people came to pay their last respects to the absurdly deceased "last of the Blacks," of whom Potter knew only Augusta Longbottom with Neville and Amelia Bones with a girl whose face he had noticed back at Hogwarts, whom she introduced as her niece. A great surprise for him was the presence of the Malfoy couple, who, as it turned out, were the closest relatives of the Blacks through Narcissa, who was Sirius's cousin.
Harry did not in any way mourn the death of his godfather, whom, in his conscious life, he had known literally for less than ten minutes. But he had no intention of refusing the inheritance, title and high position that had fallen from the sky because of someone's displeasure. He watched with interest the pale physiognomies of the Malfoys, whose disapproval could be read in the thinly compressed line of their lips and the hatred in their identically gray eyes. But they, though with stone expressions on their faces, observed propriety and expressed their condolences to Potter, as the new Lord Black.
The Dursley family spent the entire event behind their relative's back, not communicating with anyone, but for Harry their presence nearby brought a feeling of protection, and he was very grateful to them.
The last to appear at the funeral was a tall and lean man in a black robe, once of decent quality, but now having lost its presentable appearance. Expressing his condolences, he introduced himself as Bartolomew Crouch, husband of Charissa Black and, throughout the entire service, never lifted his gaze from the ground, while his whole posture radiated loss and guilt. Later, Madam Bones explained that it was through this man's oversight that Sirius had been sent to Azkaban without proper trial and investigation. When she, after Peter Pettigrew was revealed at the Wizengamot session, informed Mister Crouch of Black's innocence, he lamented for a long time, unable to believe that he had allowed such unforgivable haste.
The one who had messed up with Sirius preferred to remain in the shadows of the crypt, but the boy also looked at him with interest, trying to establish the reason for such secretive behavior. He barked his name to the new Lord Black - "Moody" and immediately moved back to the shadows, behind everyone. But it was not his frightening appearance, with his artificial eye and many scars slanting across his face, that the old warrior was ashamed of, but the fact that it was he who, once, ten years ago, had arrested and handed over to Crouch the young Sirius, confused by the death of his friends. Harry sensed with a sixth sense the shame of the just-arrived wizard and, looking at Moody with his special gaze, nearly dropped his jaw – for the first time he saw such a mighty aura. Horizontal stripes of golden-green light spun madly, thickening in the area of the chest and head. No boundary impeded the radiance of the aura and it spread out, gradually melting into space.
Noticing that Moody was watching him, Harry turned his eyes aside and met the studying gaze of an old woman in a black robe of luxurious look and quality, who had earlier introduced herself as Miss Cassie Black. Upon arrival, she had placed into the hands of the stunned Lord Black a heavy, equally black book, made a curtsy and joined the Malfoys.
There was also another woman who stood out – Mrs. Andromeda Tonks with her daughter, a seventh-year student at Hogwarts. Harry never understood why they had attended Sirius Black's funeral, but he hoped that this nuance too would not be missed and that he would understand the nature of the relationship with them.
It was unknown who and why had invited to the funeral two men of a very wretched appearance, but they stood by the doors of the crypt throughout the whole event, without ever introducing themselves. They looked at Harry with a gloomy expression, and condemnation could be read in their gaze. What right they had to spoil the solemnity of the moment with their appearance and their demonstrative disapproval toward an unfamiliar boy, who had organized – although Madam Bones had done almost everything, together with Miss Cassia Black – the funeral of his godfather, was unclear, but Harry decided not to pay attention to the bums.
At the end of the ceremony, those two tried to approach and speak privately with the green-eyed boy, but the relatives, crowding around him, did not allow them to do so. Aunt Petunia quietly whispered to her nephew that it was customary to invite the guests to the house for the wake, without dragging out the already long event.
After making sure that the wizards, together with his Muggle relatives, had already Apparated to Grimmauld Place, Harry Potter looked around for the two men with the unkempt appearance and saw them in the company of Moody, who turned out to be a one-legged cripple. They argued with him in raised voices and in this way the boy learned the names of these two – Lupin or Lu`Pen and Arthur.
Leaving this company alone, Harry approached Madam Bones and her niece and Apparated with them to his house on Grimmauld Place.
The mansion had been cleaned to a sparkling shine by house-elves under the careful supervision and direction of Kreacher and prepared to receive guests. Having invited the relatives into the large drawing room, where the house-elves had laid the table with all kinds of dishes and drinks (even those that were stronger), Harry headed to the library, where an empty portrait frame hung on the wall.
Immediately after the boy settled into an old-fashioned, but for now much too large, armchair, Lady Walburga Black appeared on the canvas together with an adult man who somewhat resembled Sirius.
Harry, - she called from the canvas, - allow me to introduce to you Phineas Nigellus Black, former headmaster of Hogwarts. Phineas, this is our new Head of House, Lord Harry James Potter-Black and Lord Slytherin.
The eyes of the painted former headmaster widened in disbelief, then shone with amusement and he laughed ringingly, from the bottom of his heart:
Ahahahaha ... – tears flowed from his gray eyes, and they looked like real ones. – Albus will have a fit, ahahaha! – he sobbed, holding his stomach. - Dear Harry, I appreciate the irony of fate, but you will have to tell me for a very long time and in every detail how it happened that Albus's Golden Boy turned out to be Lord Slytherin!
Later, Phineas, later. I also want to hear the story, but for now we are required to discuss tomorrow's session of the Wizengamot and the first steps to remove Dumbledore from the levers of power with the maximum program – his death.
The former headmaster's eyes climbed onto his forehead, it seemed that just a little more and they would pop out of their sockets. Meanwhile his lips formed a small letter "o!" and with this amusing expression he looked at Walburga with silent admiration and anticipation.
Harry merely sighed doomedly and settled more comfortably in his armchair.
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