Most wizards and witches in the room knew Sirius' identity and reputation. But, they were given proof of Sirius' innocence in private meeting as they were allies of the Hawthornes.
Harry had told Ron and Hermione the truth about Sirius as well.
Fleur and Gabrielle did not know much about Sirius so they did not ask any questions either.
After about an hour from the start of the gathering, Monsieur and Apolline Delacour got up to leave.
They had talked about it before arriving at the mansion, as they had some work to do.
Elder Huo arrived just as they were about to leave, giving everyone an apologetic smile.
"I lose track of time when practicing magic. I wish we could have had some time to talk," Elder Huo said as they were saying their farewells.
"Oh! We wished for some time with you as well. We have heard much about you," Apolline said with a shake of her head and an elegant smile.
Monsieur gave Elder Huo a polite bow. "I hope you will visit us when you stay in France," he said, and Elder Huo returned the bow as they both left.
"You will be going to France?" Aaric asked Elder Huo with a tilt of his head.
"Yes. The Flamels and I have been exchanging letters regarding alchemy, and I have been invited to stay with them for some time," Elder Huo said with a nod.
"Aren't they…" Harry began but did not complete his sentence.
"They have some time, and they wish to dedicate it to alchemy and travel," Elder Huo said, giving a gentle pat on Harry's head.
Elder Huo then joined the conversation with the adults after greeting everyone.
"Aaric, can you introduce me to him later? I have been reading his books, and there are a million things I wish to ask him," Hermione whispered to Aaric in excitement.
"No, I wouldn't do that to him," Aaric said directly with a shake of his head.
Hermione opened her mouth in shock, then her lips thinned as she nodded with a sigh, making a pitiful expression.
"I understand. Why would you introduce us? I am just a know-it-all after all," Hermione whispered in a sad voice.
Aaric looked at her and scratched his cheek, guilt written on his face.
Everyone at the table knew what was about to happen next, and they were right.
"I will introduce you two. I am sure he will find you… brilliant," Aaric said with a nod.
"No, no, you don't have to," Hermione said and looked away, hiding her smirk from Aaric.
Luna looked at Daphne with accusation, while Fleur found her glass of juice very interesting, her shoulder shaking from hidden laughter.
"I insist. You are very smart, Hermione, and he will love to talk to you," Aaric said with a guilty look.
"Well… thank you then," Hermione said and gave Aaric a small smile.
Aaric smiled back and sighed in relief before taking a sip of his juice.
The adults were not far from them, so they had heard the exchange. The men in the group gave Simon raised eyebrows, while Edwina received smiles and giggles from the women.
"Don't look at me. It's all the doing of his mother. You just need a trembling lip and half-decent acting skills to make my boy bend to your will," Simon whispered and shook his head.
"I raised that boy," Edwina said proudly, raising her chin and earning appreciative nods from the women.
"You know, your girl is not without blame either. She knows what she is doing," Simon added, jabbing an accusatory finger at Wendell.
"My angel will never do that," Wendell said in defense of Hermione, though his words lacked conviction.
"We can all see the smirk on her face," Simon said with a deadpan look. Wendell avoided his gaze and ignored his words completely.
"A-anyways, that is a beautiful painting," Wendell said, pointing at a random painting on the wall to change the subject.
"Oh! Yes, I bought it at…" Simon smiled and started a tirade about the history of the painting.
Wendell breathed a secret sigh of relief and gave Hermione a proud smile.
On the other side, the women debated making offers to adopt Aaric from the Hawthornes and keep him with them forever.
On the children's side, Daphne held Aaric's arm and patted his back with a guilty look.
"It's all my fault, I'm sorry," she said and hugged Aaric tighter by the arm.
"Huh? What is your fault?" Aaric asked, only to get a shake of the head and a kiss on the cheek from her.
Aaric shrugged and kissed her back before smiling.
"Aaric?" Harry suddenly asked with an uncertain look.
Aaric inclined his head towards Harry, waiting for him to continue.
"Well… would you mind if I bring Aunt Petunia and Dudley for dinner as well?" Harry asked, scratching his head.
"Yeah, why would I mind?" Aaric said with a shrug. Harry sighed in relief and called Dobby again.
Dobby went to fetch Dudley with a happy smile on his face.
Meanwhile, Aaric was in bliss as Daphne and Luna comforted him about something he did not understand, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Aaric sent a telepathic message to Edwina and Simon about Dudley and Petunia and got confirmation that they did not mind their arrival.
It did not take much time for an excited Dudley and a nervous Petunia to arrive.
They were welcomed by Edwina with a smile.
Petunia glanced at Simon once and gave a small nod, nervousness radiating from her.
Simon nodded back with a smile and discreetly used magic to reduce her nervousness so she wouldn't start shivering and shaking.
Dudley went over to Simon without fear and smiled at the man.
"Thank you, sir. Harry told me you helped him get the computer for me," Dudley said sincerely and politely, earning a pat on the head from Simon.
"Harry told me you are almost magical with that thing. Keep it up," Simon said, and Dudley nodded before greeting Aaric and the group.
Aaric had to use some magic on Dudley because he was becoming infatuated with Fleur just by looking at her. He had no magical resistance, so it wasn't his fault.
Harry introduced Dudley to everyone in the group, and because he was the odd one out, he made sure Dudley felt part of the conversation.
"The dinner is ready," Nibbin announced and snapped his fingers as a feast was laid out neatly on the dining table.
By this point, the women were playing a card game with high stakes, the winner would get to adopt Aaric. Edwina would be allowed to choose the next game if she won.
Edwina played nervously, chewing her lower lip with everything on the line.
"Oh! Dinner is ready. Sorry, ladies, we will have to stop the game," Edwina said, not even trying to hide her grin as she threw her cards on the table. The ladies got up and went to the dining area.
They gave Aaric apologetic looks and pats on the cheek as they sat on the table, making him even more confused.
The men had to stop their drinking competition as well. Their game was just as high stakes, if not more, than the ladies'.
The loser would have to drink microwaved tea, and everyone present was British, so it was like blasphemy to them. They would not be able to show their faces in sophisticated society with that blemish on their names.
Elder Huo was not playing the game, so he did not count.
Wendell smiled at the announcement, relieved, as he was losing badly due to his low drinking capacity.
"Wait," Wendell said as all of them were about to get up.
"We need to get up slowly so the ladies don't know we were drinking heavily," Wendell whispered, and the men looked at him as if he were their savior.
"You are a genius," Sirius said with a nod.
"Well, he is a doctor, so it makes sense," Simon said with a shrug.
"Let's not go that far. He is a dentist," Sirius said, raising a finger.
"What do you mean? You look homeless. Do you even have a wife?" Wendell shot back, going straight for Sirius' weak point.
Sirius placed a hand on his heart and went limp on the couch, staring at the sky with dead eyes.
"Huh. Let's not consider the opinions of maiden-less people and find a solution to our previous problem," Wendell added, emphasizing the word maiden-less as he looked directly at Sirius.
"I feel a metallic taste in my mouth," Sirius commented, but he was ignored.
Simon grinned and took out some potion vials from his pocket.
"Drink these. They don't taste good, but better than sleeping on sofas," Simon said, and the men drank the potion with nods.
Ignatius poured a potion into Sirius' open mouth, making him gag and cough.
Everyone joined the dinner table, and the house-elves served the food like experts.
The Grangers were uncomfortable at first but relaxed when they learned Dobby was getting a salary.
They did not comment on the others, as they were guests in the house and in the magical world as a whole.
During dinner, Petunia mustered up the courage and scooped up a spoonful of food before placing it in front of Harry's mouth with a nervous look.
"Thank you, Aunt. But I think I am too old for that," Harry said with a little embarrassment.
A loud scoff was heard as Harry made that statement.
Everyone turned to look at Aaric, who was the source of the scoff.
Aaric opened his mouth, and Edwina placed a spoonful of food in it, cleaning his face with a napkin when he started chewing.
Edwina was in her own world as she fed Aaric with a doting smile, as if no one else existed in the world.
Aaric looked directly at Harry and raised his chin arrogantly.
Petunia looked at Harry after this exchange. No one commented on it and went back to their own food.
Harry glanced at Petunia, who was looking at him hopefully, and opened his mouth.
Petunia smiled and fed Harry, whose face turned red as she fed him, Dudley, and Pyra the whole dinner.
'Well, it's a blessing Ginny is not here. How is this guy so shameless?' Harry thought, looking from Aaric to Luna and Daphne.
Unbeknownst to Harry, Luna and Daphne's only concern was that they were not the ones feeding Aaric right now.
A/N: A little bizarre chapter, I hope you guys liked it though.
And… you got any power stones? Well, hand 'em over then.