Harry received special permission from Dumbledore to return to school only on Sunday afternoon.
During these two days, Harry and Lupin accompanied Sirius, watching his godfather transform from a shabby, dirty, ragged, bedraggled prisoner to a clean and decent man, though still thin.
They also went to St Mungo's, where the Healers provided a lot of advice and prescribed three types of magic potions. In short, Sirius would need a long period of rest and careful treatment to regain his health.
Lupin took the opportunity to suggest Sirius come live at his house.
"I think you certainly wouldn't want to return to the old Black house... besides, Harry often comes back on weekends, so you can see him more."
Sirius had already forgotten his initial intention to have Harry live with him and happily agreed.
Lupin's house wasn't large, barely accommodating two people, let alone three.
But this wasn't a problem for them; both Lupin and Sirius knew the Undetectable Extension Charm. It didn't take them long to extend the space for an extra bedroom.
That night, when Harry went to bed, he saw the two men still sitting in front of the fireplace, drinking and talking.
When he got up in the morning, they were still in almost the same position.
They had talked the entire night, as if there were endless things to say.
On Sunday morning, Sirius and Lupin took Harry by Apparition to Godric's Hollow.
It was the first time Harry learned that his home was in this village and that his parents had died here.
He was surprised and ashamed, thinking why he had never thought to come and visit before.
He hadn't even paid his respects to his parents once.
But then he thought, even if he had such an idea, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon would never have brought him here.
Lupin led them to the center of the square, where Harry saw a statue of the Potter family, seemingly commemorating and thanking them in this way.
Then they went to the graveyard behind the church to pay their respects to the Potters, but Harry first saw the tombstone of Dumbledore's mother and sister. It was his first time realizing that he and the headmaster actually came from the same place.
— Why didn't Dumbledore ever tell me?
Harry couldn't help but think.
But then he thought, perhaps many wizards had gone from this village to study at Hogwarts, and Harry Potter was just one of them. Dumbledore didn't really have a need to specially tell him.
"Harry, over here!"
Lupin said, leading them to the Potter's tombstone, where the names and birth and death years of James and Lily were inscribed on the white marble tombstone, along with a simple epitaph —
[The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death].
Harry looked at those familiar yet unfamiliar names, thinking of his parents lying cold underground, never able to respond to him again, and tears welled up in his eyes.
Sirius, on the other hand, wept unrestrainedly, muttering incoherently:
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I deserve to die... I'm sorry..."
Lupin turned his head, taking deep breaths, not daring to look at the two of them.
After a long time, Lupin helped the grief-stricken Sirius from the ground, embraced the red-eyed Harry, and forcibly led them out of the graveyard.
"We will come to see them again... Harry, even though James and Lily have passed away, they will always live in our hearts, and their love will always accompany you through life... Remember this."
"Sirius, James certainly wouldn't want to see you like this... He would rather see you pull yourself together and keep moving forward."
They arrived at James and Lily's former home.
The place had long since become ruins, the right side of the top-floor room completely destroyed, the iron gate rusted, the yard overgrown with weeds, and several window panes shattered.
Standing at the doorway, Harry suddenly hesitated to enter.
Growing up, he had always imagined what his life would be like if his parents hadn't died... Would he, like Dudley, be regarded as the most precious child in the world by his parents, no matter how rude, stupid, or disrespectful he was?
But now, standing so close to where his parents once lived, his legs felt too heavy to lift.
He was afraid.
Afraid of seeing the happy life he once had, and even more afraid of seeing that happiness shattered and fragmented.
Lupin understood Harry's feelings and pressed the boy's shoulder, saying, "Next time, Harry, come again when you're ready."
Harry supported himself awkwardly, saying, "No need, I can..."
"Don't forget you have school tomorrow; if you linger here too long, will you be able to get up on time tomorrow morning? Have you finished your homework? Prepared for class?"
Lupin's three questions dragged Harry back to the harsh reality, as he remembered that he had only written two lines of his Magic Potion class paper, his mood suddenly shifted to another kind of heaviness.
"Let's go, I'll take you back to school," Lupin said, "During the Christmas break, we can come back together. There are many things in the old house that need sorting out, and I guess you'll want to see traces from your childhood too."
Harry hesitated for a moment, then left with Lupin. He glanced back to see Sirius still standing at the door, his body rigid like it had been petrified.
He couldn't see his godfather's expression, but just looking at his back, Harry felt like he couldn't breathe.
"Remus, Sirius is..."
"He might need to be alone for a while," Lupin said, "Don't worry, I'll look after him after taking you back."
Harry secretly glanced up at Lupin's expression.
— Is Remus really as composed as he seems, or is he just hiding all his emotions?
Lupin seemed to see through his thoughts and suddenly said, "I'm not like Sirius."
"Since that night, Sirius has been locked up in Azkaban; he couldn't attend their funeral, nor could he come back to visit them... He certainly has a lot he wants to say to James now..."
"Have you come to pay respects to my parents, Remus?" Harry asked as calmly as possible, trying not to sound like a crying child.
"Yes, every year," Lupin said tenderly.
…
"Did you go to pay respects to your parents?"
In the common room, Hermione asked softly, looking at Harry as if he were a fragile porcelain.
"Are you alright? ... I mean... If you need, my shoulder is available for you to lean on..."
Hermione said hesitantly.
"Oh, no need." Harry didn't really want to look into her eyes and lowered his head, saying, "Actually, I... well... I'm already used to not having parents, so..."
He couldn't continue, and Hermione looked like she might cry.
"Hey, Harry, you're here!" Ron suddenly squeezed in through the doorway, brightening upon seeing Harry, "Come quickly, they've got a big project going at the Black Lake!"
Harry instantly felt relieved, eager to escape the awkward atmosphere, so he immediately stood up and said, "What is it?"
"Come with me and you'll see." Ron dashed out through the doorway again, shouting out, "Hermione, what are you waiting for?"
"But Harry, you haven't finished your Magic Potion class paper!" Hermione called out, following with concern.
"Forget that! This is way more interesting than some bloody essay!" Ron said.
The Fat Lady at the entrance shouted angrily, "I've only just opened the door for you!"
Ron had no time to pay attention to her.
The group hurried out of the castle, and Harry was surprised to find nearly all the Hogwarts students there, lined up in long queues in front of seven doors. Ron immediately pulled them to stand at the shortest line.
"Damn, we're late!" Ron said regretfully, "I thought they wouldn't open until at least tomorrow!"
Harry, out of breath, said, "So... what exactly... is this?"