Salazar did not have much luggage to prepare or collect from the Dursleys' house. He always carried his few belongings in his trunk; at no time had he left anything on Privet Drive in case it should end up in the flames, which, knowing his aunt and uncle, would not surprise him at all. Not even before waking up would he have done so. So the transfer to Sirius's house was very quick. Just carrying the trunk had been enough for him.
Sirius's house was located in London, in a Muggle neighbourhood of elegant architectural style. The house was camouflaged between two others. Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, was the ancestral home of the Blacks. A three-storey house, quite dark and full of rather frightening objects. Salazar settled for the moment in a guest room that Sirius had prepared for him; it was a temporary room until they could prepare the rest of the house.
"Harry, I authorise you to do magic within the walls of this house," Sirius announced.
"Thank you, Sirius."
"I'm sorry if the place is a bit scary; I haven't been able to fully fit it out yet."
"Don't worry, no problem. Need help conditioning it?" Salazar asked.
"I would appreciate it. My cousin Andromeda and my niece, whom you already know, will come to help. Is it true that you two are together?" Sirius asked, a mischievous glint in his eye.
"That's something I can't answer you. It would not be appropriate," Salazar replied, maintaining a neutral expression.
"All right, I won't press you."
"Can I invite Neville, Luna, Ron, and Hermione?" Salazar requested. He didn't like having to ask permission as if he were a child instead of doing as he pleased; but he understood that if he was now under the guardianship of another wizard, he had to keep up appearances and comply with the rules of the house, whatever they might be.
"You can invite whoever you like. Just let me know when you're going to do it. You will also have to wait until the house is well cleaned."
"I understand. If, as you said, your family was somewhat frightening, it is to be expected that there are undesirable and dangerous objects in the house. I can wait."
"Now, go and change because we are going shopping and dining out."
When he was left alone, Salazar turned to the place from which he had felt observed throughout the conversation. There was an elf who looked at them with an unfriendly face, as if he wanted to get them out of the place but was resigned to having them there. That must be the Black family's house-elf. Salazar gave him a serene look before returning to his business. He decided that as long as the elf did not meddle in his affairs and did not pose a problem, he would not do anything to him. Contrary to what he thought about the portrait of Sirius's mother, Salazar had set out to destroy it since he had begun to hear it shouting stupid things hours before. Sirius had silenced her by closing the curtain of the portrait with a spell, but Salazar was wondering if it would not be better to shout something in Parseltongue to make her shut her mouth. Although that would be showing too much for the moment.
Salazar examined the clothes he had and put on some of the ones he had bought during the summer. They were already a little short, but they still fit. The first thing he would do would be to burn his cousin's old clothes; they were not even good enough to be donated to charity. In the end, Salazar looked in the mirror; he was not very elegantly dressed, but he was presentable, at least.
"I'm ready," Salazar called out.
"So, on the move. We will pass by a Muggle shopping centre and then have a bite to eat. Tomorrow, first thing in the morning, we will go to Diagon Alley for the same thing."
Salazar felt that Sirius wanted to give him everything he had not received in twelve years. In a way, he was grateful to the man, even though Salazar could acquire things by himself. He had been surprised by what Sirius had told him on the way home. The money from the compensation Sirius had received had been given to Harry; which meant having their accounts healthy much sooner than expected with the investments they had made the previous summer. Thus, his vault was as if no one had laid hands on it that should never have, or rather, as if his fortune had not been squandered. Salazar had seen in that gesture that Sirius didn't want anything that reminded him of the hell he had been through. Something Salazar admired in him.
"Did you talk to your friend in the end?" Salazar asked.
"With Remus, yes. Everything is cleared up," Sirius replied.
"I'm glad. I liked him; it's a pity that he can't continue to be a teacher. I would pretend that I am weak in Defence Against the Dark Arts just to hire him as a reinforcement, but that one doesn't work."
"I've seen your grades, and no, it doesn't work," Sirius chuckled.
"And in the Muggle world, I'm sure he can find something there or even start his own company. It shouldn't be that hard," Salazar mused.
"I'll tell him, Harry; although I doubt that he will accept. You know the kind of problems he has," Sirius said, a hint of sadness in his voice.
"Yes, problems of pride. Problems of seeing a hand extended as a handout," Salazar stated plainly.
"That aside," Sirius muttered, amused. "He was always the voice of conscience in the group and always felt that he dragged the rest of us just because we were his friends; which made him sometimes feel depressed and withdraw from others. Especially girls. He always found an excuse to reject them with the argument that it was not good for anyone."
"He's self-conscious, of course," Salazar concluded.
The shopping trip went well. Harry was not very burdened by it. He only wanted to buy the essentials. He didn't need to flaunt a lot of clothes after all; having something suitable for different occasions was enough. After the shopping, they stayed for dinner at a restaurant around the Muggle shopping centre they were in and then went into one of the last sessions of the night for the film Jurassic Park. To Salazar, the idea of resurrecting powerful, aggressive creatures with an excessively primitive brain seemed a horror and a clear example of what could become the limit of human stupidity. The film was good, he didn't deny that, and he had even liked it. But Salazar couldn't help but analyse it from other perspectives. It had been a good afternoon in general, and he had convinced Sirius not to go to Madam Malkin's until the time for his return to Hogwarts approached.
---
Helga had insisted on teaming up with Salazar in the clean-up work. The argument she had used for this had been very simple: both Sirius and Andromeda had to make up for what time had taken from them, and teaming up in a house they both knew well might be the best opportunity. Andromeda had tried to object, but Sirius had thrown a cloak at them; so in the end, Helga had been able to meet Salazar alone. What they both intended was to find and destroy the missing Horcrux without having to alert the other two. It wasn't that they didn't trust them. Helga trusted Andromeda fully and knew that Salazar was beginning to trust Sirius. They had simply agreed not to give that information to anyone, unless it was completely necessary. The fewer people involved in that, the fewer people who knew what they knew, the better for them and what they had to do.
"Here it is, I have it," Helga said in a whisper, cautiously holding a locket that was very familiar to Salazar.
"You bastard," Salazar muttered angrily in Parseltongue. "I'll keep it; then we'll destroy it."
"Yes, we'd better continue." Helga added. "At least we don't have to face a battalion of Doxies and other parasites like those in the room."
"No, we just have to stack the scary objects, destroy an anchor, and get rid of the Boggart in that cupboard," Salazar replied.
"How do you know it's a Boggart?" Helga asked, surprised.
"I used it as practice. I didn't feel like getting rid of him just now," Salazar admitted with a shrug.
"I'll go find Sirius," Helga said with a smile. "I'm sure he's in the mood for a little action."
"I'll go up to get the dagger. Second floor, left bedroom," Salazar instructed.
Helga saw Salazar go upstairs; she knew that he had given her the location of where to find him in that house. But for the moment, she dedicated herself to doing what she had planned: passing the baton of eliminating the Boggart to Sirius; and to endure Andromeda's gaze on the matter. Helga was surprised by the number of cursed objects that were in that house; it seemed that the more they were removed, the more emerged. It was as if the house had acquired a certain awareness and considered them invaders. That, or it was the elf's doing. Kreacher seemed to be looking for a way to cause them all the inconvenience possible. Helga never thought she'd find a house-elf who would make her angry, but as Salazar had warned her, it was best to ignore him. She left Andromeda and Sirius in the Boggart's room and went upstairs to the room where Salazar had told her.
"Have you covered the portrait?" Helga asked, noticing that there was a black cloth that completely concealed one of the portraits on the wall. The only one in that room, to tell the truth.
"It's the portrait of a certain member of the Black family who was the Headmaster of a lot of that, so I decided to cut him off from a lot of people," Salazar explained.
Helga nodded, looking at Salazar with some amusement. She knew that what Salazar said was true, that he had done it to disturb the portrait, but at the same time, she knew that there was another intention there. The portraits of the Headmasters had copies in different places and institutions, in addition to being directly connected to the office of the Headmaster of Hogwarts; so he could use them for whatever he needed. Salazar simply didn't want to be spied on by Dumbledore, so he had taken steps visually. They could destroy the object silently, without exchanging words with each other, but if the object had the strength to resist, the portrait would know that something strange had happened even if it could not see it. They could talk without saying what they were talking about, but they would be in the same situation.
"I have something to show you, Harry," Helga said in a calm voice, gesturing toward the landing.
"Cool!" Salazar exclaimed.
They went out into the hallway, and Helga watched as Salazar closed the door behind him and silently placed privacy charms. The landing wasn't the private place they'd wanted to have, but it was clear that with that portrait there, they had less privacy. There was no way of knowing the degree of loyalty that Headmaster Black's portrayal had towards the current Headmaster of Hogwarts. It was better, then, not to take risks. Salazar gave Helga the dagger that months ago had impregnated Rhea's body with poison; then he held the locket. It was when they were about to decide which of the two would destroy it that the house-elf intervened.
"No, damn that, half-breed! Master Regulus's locket!" Kreacher shrieked.
Helga saw how the elf jumped on Salazar trying to take his locket and how Salazar dodged him and left the elf motionless. Helga saw Salazar put the locket on the ground while pointing his wand at the elf with a threatening expression.
"Tonks, destroy it," Salazar commanded.
Helga nodded, drawing her dagger and slamming it down onto the centre of the locket. The metal split, giving way and destroying the piece of soul that was within its contents. The Dark Lord's mass of black soul screamed in rage as it died of being lost. They had destroyed the last one marked by the map, and now they only had the original focus, for which they had to prepare; because it was not going to be easy to face it. Helga saw how Salazar freed the elf from the spell, who picked up the loose locket from the ground and began to cry. Helga didn't think he was sad or hurt; it seemed rather that he was happy? Hurried footsteps were heard down the stairs; it was evident that the two adults downstairs had been alerted by the noise.
"What...?" Sirius tried to ask with a scared face; Andromeda seemed to be too.
"It was nothing. A little misunderstanding with Kreacher," Salazar said quickly. "He thought we were going to throw away an old souvenir he keeps of your brother."
"Have you let him keep it?" Sirius asked, surprised.
"Yes, I don't see anything wrong with that. If he wants to keep it, let him keep it," Helga said. "After all, this is a house, and he's part of it; it's not that we're the Jedi Order and their orthodoxies against everything about attachment and stuff."
"Jedi Order?" Salazar asked, intrigued.
"I like science fiction, okay? I have several comics," Helga admitted with a slight blush.
"Master Harry can sleep in Master Regulus's room," Kreacher said, snapping a little out of his trance and looking respectfully at both Salazar and Helga. "Kreacher will gladly serve the young masters Harry and Tonks."
"Have you earned the elf's loyalty?" Andromeda asked in surprise.
"That's what they seem to have done," said an even more surprised Sirius Black.
Helga exchanged a fleeting glance with Salazar before they both shrugged. While Sirius and Andromeda were still surprised, Salazar gathered his things and followed Salazar to Regulus's famous room. Helga followed him into the room. It was a very green room, which showed that Regulus belonged to the Slytherin house.
"I think I'll respect the decoration. I like green; it's quite relaxing," Salazar said. "Kreacher, would you like to keep the photos of Regulus?"
"Yes, Master Harry, Kreacher would love to," the elf replied, his eyes wide with devotion.
"Well, then take as many as you want."
---
Sirius was sitting at the long kitchen table in the basement. He was constantly reading and rereading a letter he had just received, not quite knowing what to do about it. To say that the letter had surprised him was an understatement. He had never imagined that Draco Malfoy would write, much less ask him for help. Of all the people he had imagined would ever write to him, he never thought it would be Draco Malfoy. It was truly disconcerting. Sirius didn't know what to do about it, whether to respond or ignore it, whether to throw it into the fire or break it into pieces.
"Good morning, Sirius," Salazar greeted him, who was coming down to breakfast. "Is something wrong? You seem worried."
"It's nothing, I'm just thinking," Sirius replied.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" Salazar offered.
"Harry... what do you know about Draco Malfoy?" Sirius asked.
"Slytherin, he's in my year. He is usually a little stupid at times. Last year, he repeated like a parrot the same imbecilities that his father told him. This year... it has been something different. He admitted that his father urged him to provoke a Hippogriff in order to challenge the Headmaster's hiring decisions. He didn't tell me directly, but I have ways of finding out about gossip," Salazar explained.
"Do you get along?" Sirius pressed.
"We've begun to iron out some rough edges. I don't like him, and I don't think he likes me at the moment. I think we are at a point of non-aggression," Salazar clarified.
"What you say is more or less what he says in his letter," Sirius said. "He exposes his situation, and the desire not to be manipulated within his father's power games. He wants to run away from home, and his mother isn't going to help him. He asks me for help."
"What are you going to do?" Salazar asked.
"That's what I have doubts about. I ran away from my family when I was fifteen and took refuge in your grandparents' house. James's parents treated me like a second son. What I don't know is how serious this chap can be," Sirius mused.
"Why don't you talk about it in person? Maybe that will help," Salazar suggested.
"Wanting to talk about it in person would be precisely as if I were telling him that I was going to help him," Sirius countered.
"Not necessarily. It would simply be to deal with the issue in person; not to say yes or no," Salazar explained.
Sirius passed the letter to Salazar, who studied it silently as he read it and finally returned it to him without saying anything. Sometimes, Sirius saw that his godson thought and acted as if he were older or more mature. In fact, Sirius himself had felt like a child at times when he was next to Harry. Sirius realised that Salazar was not going to tell him what to do; he had already given his opinion, and that was enough. Sirius had to decide for himself. A large part of him wanted to help his cousin's son, because Draco had asked him for help to get out of a pit of darkness, and if Sirius did not reach out to him, he would be condemning him to remain there. On the other hand, a small part of him told him that it was a ruse and that it could be another Pettigrew. Coupled with all this, Sirius feared that his past experience with the rat would influence him too much in making that decision. The Blacks were a proud family, but so were the Malfoys; they were almost on par with the Blacks. Sirius didn't think that a Malfoy, who was also a Black, would have written such a letter easily, so Draco had probably had to swallow a good part of his pride.
"If he is finally willing to abandon his family, he will have to come here," Sirius stated.
"The house is big enough, Sirius. If that's what you're worried about," Salazar assured him.
Sirius smiled at his godson. He could see that Salazar would become a great man, the kind of man capable of reaching out to help an enemy in distress rather than turning his back on him and rejoicing in his misfortune. If already at the age of thirteen, almost fourteen, Salazar showed himself to be so wise and mature, Sirius knew that he could expect a lot from him. Sirius got up with the letter in hand and read it again as he went to the office he had in the house, the office that had belonged to his father, the former Lord Black. He began writing a letter to young Draco Malfoy carefully and cautiously, being careful in his chosen words and inviting him to a meeting at a place they both considered neutral. Sirius imagined that Draco's parents would have forbidden him to have contact with him, but that was not going to stop Sirius. He couldn't go to Malfoy Manor, and for the time being, it was better that Draco didn't go to the Black house. A middle ground would make Draco feel more comfortable. Sirius reread his letter before sending it; at that moment, he regretted not having paid enough zeal to political issues.
---
Salazar fixed his gaze on the calendar he had in the room; July 31st had just begun. It was his birthday. But that did not mean that he was going to leave aside his homework, in which he was already beginning to show a much higher level than those of his first and second years. The celebration was important, but that didn't mean he was going to stop studying for a single day. The good thing was that he could talk to Godric and Rowena and mention the locket; they already had all the Horcruxes. The bad thing was not having been able to get the news to them earlier. It would have raised too many suspicions. Now that only the main part remained, they could be training and preparing for when it was revealed. There weren't many short-term plans they could make at the moment.
"Master Harry. You have mail. It arrived this morning," Kreacher announced, popping into the room.
"Thank you, Kreacher."
"Breakfast will be ready in ten minutes."
"I'll be coming down soon, good job, Kreacher."
Salazar looked at the sender of the letter before opening it. It was a letter from Ron. He was surprised by that because Ron was coming to see him in the afternoon at his birthday celebration. Salazar had sent him the invitation a week ago; also to Hermione, Rowena, Godric, the twins, and Ginny. Out of curiosity, Salazar opened it. He unfolded the contents and read his friend's ungainly strokes.
Harry,
I haven't been able to write to you before; it wasn't until last night that Mum spoke out about going to your birthday. She has told us that we cannot go for the simple fact that you are now living in the house of an obscure family and 'Weasleys' don't step foot in those types of houses. As if the house were built by those who had lived in it and not by those who live there now. The truth is that there are times when I don't even understand her. She keeps thinking that it is not healthy for a man who has been twelve years among Dementors to take care of you, and that the choice of that 'cursed house' is a clear example of that. There has been no way to make her come to her senses, even with my father telling her I don't know what things she is like. I think what Mum wanted was for you to celebrate your birthday in the Burrow and stay with us for the rest of the time. Now that I've gotten good grades, she goes and says that with grades like that I could be someone in the Ministry. She is boring with her talks, and I have wanted to reply that if she has so much love for the Ministry, she should get to work on it herself. Of course, then I remembered the Quidditch World Cup and I didn't want to be punished. What you and Neville told me about breathing before you speak works.
Ginny convinced us to send you the gift in the evening. This time we have raised money, Fred, George, and I. I won't tell you what it is, but I hope you like it. Mum is angry because the twins haven't taken out all the O.W.L.s she wanted them to get. They have taken three each, and just those three are 'Outstanding'. They don't fool me. They are both talented in many things and know more than meets the eye. They could have gotten more O.W.L.s if they had wanted to. Fred got 'Outstanding' in Defence Against the Dark Arts, Charms, and Potions. George got 'Outstanding' in Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, and Herbology. For what they want to do, that complements each other, or at least that's what Ginny said. So Mum is angry with them because it takes at least five O.W.L.s and their respective N.E.W.T.s to start working in the Ministry. Seriously, why so much insistence with the Ministry? It seems that they pay her to place her children there. By the way, I came first in the chess contest.
This week, Bill and Charlie have arrived. You'll love meeting them; they're cool. Mum insists that they switch to a more secure job like in the Ministry. The one who has come to work in the Ministry has been Percy. Mum threw a house party because of that. She never did that for Bill or Charlie. I think I'm going to follow in Fred and George's footsteps and do whatever I want, as you told me once, it's my future.
I'm glad you have tickets for the World Cup, so we can get together to watch the game and that. I think my father was going to talk to Sirius about it.
Salazar closed Ron's letter and left it with his things on his study table. It was a pity that the Weasleys couldn't come to his birthday party. Salazar could see how Mrs. Weasley's prejudices came into play when she ruled that, being the old Black house, it was not a good home. He could also see, from what Ron expressed, that she somehow wanted to direct her children's lives. Salazar could see that she wanted the best for each of them, which was understandable; but sometimes the 'best' is not what is seen as best, but what each one works well at. Salazar didn't know Bill and Charlie, so he couldn't give an opinion. Fred and George had a good nose for business and loved jokes, so they would succeed in that way sooner than behind a desk. Ron wasn't someone who seemed to like being told what to do, so to weigh him down that way and not want him to breathe using other hobbies was to hold him back too much, which could be bad. And Ginny... Salazar had never asked her about her expectations for the future.
"The Weasleys won't be able to come," Salazar told Sirius before sitting down to breakfast.
"Let me guess. Molly Weasley won't let them come because she hasn't been able to 'cut the cake'," Sirius said, a wry smile playing on his lips.
"Something like that. Ron has sent me his congratulations, and they will send me a gift in the evening. I think he wants to do it in secret from his mother."
"Molly was never a bad person, but a little intense and given to prejudice; but never bad in herself," Sirius mused.
"I know."
When noon arrived, the doorbell began to ring. Luckily, although they had not managed to remove the portrait of Sirius's "charming" mother, a couple of threats in Parseltongue from Salazar and a silencing charm cast by Sirius were more than enough to stop it from being so annoying. That was a nice improvement. Salazar received them one by one and accompanied them to the kitchen of the house, which had changed a lot with the new decoration. Hermione went alone, as did Rowena. Godric came with his grandmother, who seemed to look at the place critically, as if she were reviewing the place as a sergeant would review the troops. Salazar understood that if she had shown up at the place, she would go and talk to Sirius about anything that adults discussed, surely Wizengamot matters.
"It's done," Salazar whispered to Godric and Rowena as soon as he could.
Helga was the last to arrive; apparently, she had had a last-minute job at the Ministry, so she could not have escaped before. As they caught up and tried to get Salazar to reveal what he had in store for the rest of the afternoon, Augusta Longbottom seemed to be discussing a few points with Sirius to finally give her approval. Salazar imagined that it had to do with the Quidditch World Cup and with the outing that everyone would have this afternoon after lunch, on the occasion of his birthday celebration.
"Tonks, I'm glad you were able to come," Sirius said. "You're the other responsible adult."
"Responsible adult? What have you planned, Sirius?" Helga asked, a hint of suspicion in her voice.
"As soon as you eat, we'll go to the amusement park."
Salazar looked at his friends with a smile. He had planned that surprise, and it was a pity that the Weasley brothers had not been allowed to come, because he was sure that they would have enjoyed the amusement park. He'd never been to one; the Dursleys never let him go, so that had been Sirius's birthday present; a gift that he had wanted to share with the rest. Hermione didn't know if she had been to one or not, but at least she knew what it was. Godric and Rowena surely hadn't been, so for them, it would all be completely new and probably amazing.
"Is that why you told us to wear Muggle clothes?" Godric asked.
"That's right. You'll see, we're going to have a scary time on the rides. There are some where they throw water at you, others that are underground, and others that are reminiscent of Gringotts rails but in the air. I've seen it, and I've always wanted to ride."
"They say the Goblins built the tunnels after the pattern given to them by the god of riches," Rowena said, ever the scholar.
"Let's finish the meal and get ready," Hermione said, her excitement growing. "I only went once when I was little, and I wanted to go back. Although I don't go on what's very high. I don't like it."
"Don't worry, I'll stay with you," Godric said reassuringly. "That way you're not alone."
"Thank you, Neville."
Shortly afterwards, they were all ready at the door to leave for the amusement park. Sirius had asked the Ministry for a transfer to leave them in an area near the park where they would not attract attention. They were going to spend a great afternoon. Godric had decided not to separate from Hermione, so Salazar could deduce. Rowena seemed to be analysing the environment and, who knows what was going through her mind. As for Salazar and Helga, they stayed together all afternoon, even looking to sit together on the rides whenever they could.