The public was shocked by the revelation that an innocent man had been condemned based on the history of his family. While no one would admit it, the only reason they believed that Sirius Black had betrayed the Potters was because he was a Black.
The Daily Prophet wrote an article about how the ministry was incompetent for sending an innocent man to Azkaban. They also wrote an article on Bartemius Crouch, how his son was a death eater and how he could be one too.
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4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey | 25th December | 7 AM
Knock. Knock.
Dumbledore knocked on the door of the Dursleys. He came to pick up Harry from them. He waited for some time, and then knocked again. After some time, the door opened.
"What do you want old man? Do you have to beg on Christmas too? Don't you people have a holiday?"
The person who happened to open the door was Vernon Dursley. He looked at Dumbledore and felt something was odd.
"I came here to pick up Harry. He will now live with his godfather."
Vernon realized who he was.
"You're one of them freaks aren't you. I promised to myself I would never let any of this freakishness come near my family. You had to dump that freak on us! Take him, we don't want him!"
Vernon went inside and came back with Harry. He put him in Dumbledore's eyes, and banged the door on his face. The Dursleys no longer had any association with the Wizarding World until a few years later.
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Hogwarts Infirmary | 25th December 1981 | 8 AM
Sirius was talking to Charlus. He still couldn't believe that he was alive. Even though Sirius' real father was Orion Black, he considered the Potters as his family ever since they gave him a place to stay when he ran away from his family in his 6th year. He saw Charlus Potter Sr in Charlus.
"How many times do I tell you? My name if Padfoot."
"Pafoo."
It was at this moment when Dumbledore entered the infirmary with Harry in his arms. Harry was still sleeping. Charlus looked curiously at the baby in Dumbledore's arms.
"This is your brother Charlus. His name is Harry. You have to take care of them from now on. Do you want to hold him?"
Normally, it would be a bad idea to give a 4 year old a 1 year old, but Dumbledore had his wand ready. Charlus held Harry with relative ease, shocking both Dumbledore and Sirius. It wasn't every day that a 4 year old could lift a 20 pounds baby.
"Sirius, I presume there will be a proper place for you to take care of the children."
"Yes. I'm going to take them to the manor Uncle Alphard left me. I'm not going to take them anywhere near the hell hole I grew up in until my mother kicks the bucket."
Dumbledore nodded and said, "Madam Pomfrey said you are free to go now, but don't hesitate to come here if you still fail discomfort. I'm worried about the.... security... of St. Mungos after knowing who donated and became a board member."
"I'm going to raise them properly, just like James and Lily would have."
Sirius got up from his bed, and took Harry from Charlus' arm. Charlus didn't protest at all. He simply took the pendant around his neck and started playing with it. Sirius looked at Dumbledore and said, "Thank you for saving me Dumbledore. I will now take my leave. I will see you when Charlus comes to Hogwarts, hopefully."
Sirius took Charlus' hand and then with his other hand, he carefully took out a coin from his shirt pocket without dropping Harry. He held the coin tightly in his hand and said, "Toujours Pur."
Sirius and the Potter children disappeared, and they were not heard from for a very long time.
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Black Manor, France | 25th December 1981 | 8:05 AM
"Kids, I give your Christmas present for the next 10 years, the Black Manor!"
The two walked into the manor just as Harry slowly stirred. Sirius called out, "The head of house Black orders any and all house-elves of the House of Black to present themselves."
The Blacks were a patriarchal family, and only the male descendants could pass on the line. Only if there were no male children, would the male child of a female be adopted into the family. Thus, while Walburga Black, Sirius' mother, disowned him, since she had no say and power in the matter, Sirius was still legally and magically the head of his house.
Only 2 house-elves came forth. One of them was Kreacher, and the other was relatively young.
"Kreacher is here to serve the ungrateful son of Lady Black, leaving poor Lady Black all alone. Kreacher is waiting for the order of the ungrateful spawn who claimed to be head of the house."
"Go back to mother Kreacher," Sirius commanded. He was not in the mood to bear Kreacher's insults. He looked at the other house-elf and asked, "Who are you?"
"I is Tonky. I is new elf here. I is joined one year by great Lady Black, Head of Blacks."
Sirius thought for a bit and said, "First clean 3 rooms for us to stay in, the kitchen, bathrooms, and living room. Then proceed to clean the whole house."
It did not take Tonky too long to clean the manor. As the Lady of Black Family, Walburga did not tolerate any decrease in status. Hence, she ordered the regular cleaning of each and every manor belonging to the Blacks, whether they were occupied or not. Seeing that she was the only member of the main family alive, it was often the latter.
In the 1 hour Tonky took to clean the Manor, Sirius explored the Manor along with Charlus. Harry was in a cradle conjured up by Sirius in the living room that he made Tonky clean first. He was astonished by how spacious and comfortable the manor was. There were 7 rooms,1 big library, 2 living rooms, a kitchen, a dining room, and the hall which was used to greet guests. There was a single floo fireplace in the whole manor, and it was in the hall. For 3 people, the manor wasn't too big, and not small at all.
The backyard was even better. 5 acres of forest behind the manor belonged to Sirius, and it helped that it came with muggle repulsing charms. The manor was one of the best places to raise a wizard.