"Don't I have houses I can go to?" the teen asked, remembering what Luna said about his family being prestigious.
"No, sorry, but no. Potter Manor was destroyed in the war, and Godric's Cottage is now a monument. There's no place for you to go there," Sirius said sadly. He spent a good few years at the manor, so it was disheartening that it was gone.
"Well, I have tons of money. I…" Harry started, thinking that money runs the world.
"Which will only get you so far," his godfather interrupted. "Yeah, it'll get you a place to stay, but let's think about that a minute. If you bribe someone into giving you a flat, they then have blackmail material on you and can use it to milk you of all your money. Then when you can't pay them anymore, they turn to the next bidder. That is not a good way to start a new life," he said, imparting some of the lessons his father had taught him before he rebelled. "The only way that works is if you have good stuff on them as well and since your memory isn't there, well…"
"I know how to defend myself. If they push it I will retaliate," the teen said forcefully.
"Which still won't get you shelter," was the rebuttal.
"Fine," Harry threw up his hands. "What do you suggest?" he snapped at yet one more adult that was trying to hold him down.
"Look, I get that you think I'm just being negative, but I'm trying to be pragmatic. You are only a teenager and people will not take you seriously . I think you should stay here, at Hogwarts, commandeer one of the classrooms, so you don't have to sleep with that Ron kid. Utilize the library and just chill for a while," Sirius suggested seriously. He really didn't want the boy to learn the hard way that everything he said was true. And he didn't want to suggest that Harry use magic to make people do what he wanted. That way led to the Darkside.
"Can't you rent or buy something for me?" our hero asked, perking up at that thought.
"Harry, I'm a wanted man in both worlds. If I show my face I'm asking to be shot or Kissed," Black said, shaking his head sadly at the thought that he couldn't help more.
"Oh. Well, shite." The teen thumped back in his chair and thought really hard on what they had just talked about. He came to a conclusion and sighed. All of his grand escape plans just went up in smoke. "What do I do about the head arsehole, the greasy-headed creepy guy and the redheaded twit?" Harry asked mulishly.
"Didn't you ask for an Auror, and an attorney?" his godfather asked with a tilt of his head. That would help loads to get Harry out of his predicament.
"Oh, yeah, I do have that right now, don't I?" That made our champion sit up and take notice.
"Yup," Sirius agreed with a smile. "Now nothing will come of Albus rummaging through your mind," he warned, knowing that all wizards thought the same. There was no law protecting the students from Legilimency. It was frowned upon, but not illegal, which is why all heirs were taught to shield their mind. He was going to have to sit the boy down and teach him, but there had to be trust to do that, so he let it go for the moment. "However," he added quickly, "Ron taking your stuff might get them moving. I mean, that cloak is a family heirloom."
"Not to mention he had my broom too." Harry hated the fact that the old man will get away with what he did. He would have to come up with something really nice for the guy.
"You mean the one I gave you last Christmas?" there was a bite to the question.
"Oh, well, I didn't know it was from you, did I?"
"Right, walkabout," Sirius said, rubbing his chin in deep thought. He was trying to think of anything that would get the boy his memories back, but most of the magic he learned was not healing magic, so he was coming up empty-handed. He was a bit put out that Albus couldn't reverse the amnesia.
"Okay, I'll stay here for now," the messy-haired teen said, determined to not let the negative people in the castle near him, "but I'm not attending classes. If they try and make me then I'm bloody well leaving. I lived on the streets before, I can do it again. And don't even try to talk me into participating in those gladiator games they call a tournament. It is not going to happen ," he hissed, making sure the man understood that.
That caused the godfather to be very, very worried. "But, Harry, you could lose your magic," he said with a great deal of concern. Losing one's magic was huge, and quite painful. Some didn't survive the experience. He knew he wouldn't.
"I don't fucking care. Besides, the goblins said that won't happen. Contracts can't be forced, so whoever entered me is in more of a bind than I am," he said, waving his hand in the air like it was no big deal, which in his eyes it wasn't.
"Right, I knew that," Sirius mumbled, wondering why he didn't think about it, and then brushed it off as a side effect of Azkaban. "So you're going to stay here for now?" that was a load off his mind.
"Yeah, but what about you?" Harry asked, "Where are you staying?"
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