Padfoot and his Pup

18. | Meeting The Godfather- Part IV

Dumbledore's smile completely faded because of the ice in Sirius' words. He didn't know what he had done to offend the younger man.

Nevertheless, he gestured for Sirius to sit down and was a bit disconcerted when the younger man didn't accept. "Is something bothering you, Sirius?"

"After everything that's happened, you have quite the nerve to ask me that." Sirius' voice was sharp, slicing through the silence like a fiery whip.

"My b—"

"Don't you dare 'my boy' me, Dumbledore!"

Dumbledore was quite taken aback by Sirius' ire. He didn't know what he had done to cause such powerful anger.

"You promised me, you swore to me that Harry was safe and happy with his Aunt and Uncle."

A small knot formed in Dumbledore's gut. "But he was. The Dursley wards protected him from any external threats that may have otherwise harmed the boy."

Sirius glared at him. "Only external threats, Dumbledore. You never considered the activities that took place on the inside."

"Were you aware of Lily's strained relationship with her sister? Of how Petunia was always jealous and spiteful? She hated all things remotely magical and you go ahead and place Harry at her door. With no explanation other than a letter." His voice curled around the last word in disgust.

"In those ten years, didn't you ever feel the need to check on Harry?"

"Si—"

"To ensure that he was happy? You bloody well didn't!"

Sirius snapped.

"You dumped an innocent baby at the doorstep of a pair of anti-magic muggles and on top of that, you didn't bother to check on him even once! Did you ever pause to even think about the child? Didn't you even wonder for one bloody moment as to why Harry's acceptance letter was addressed to a damn cupboard?"

Dumbledore's silence only fueled Sirius' anger.

"Congratulations, Dumbledore! Your negligence only served to condemn a child to a life of hate, loneliness and abuse! Well done."

Dumbledore swallowed thickly. "I'm s—"

"Zip it, I'm not finished! You have made horrible, irreparable blunders in the past few years. You didn't stop to consider your actions or the consequences they would have for others. All his childhood, Harry never knew a moment's happiness you stupid old b—"

Sirius gripped the edge of the desk until his knuckles turned white. He forced himself to take a deep breath and rein himself in.

"They beat him. Harry Potter, son of Lily and James Potter, my godson grew up scared, hungry, unloved and neglected all because you weren't responsible enough."

At the age of one, Harry had probably been the most spoilt baby on the planet with more clothes, toys and love than one could possibly imagine.

Sirius himself had spoilt the baby at every instance. And to think that the very same child had grown up wearing oversized hand-me-downs, slept in a cramped cupboard, did chores way beyond his capacity so that he could earn his keep! And to top it all, they had treated him worse than one would treat their house elf.

The image of Harry's frightened face, the lashes and welts across his back, his soft voice when he had poured his heart out to Sirius last night and the way he'd given in to the exhaustion was still raw in Sirius' mind.

"I was only acting in young Harry's best interests, Sirius."

"Don't you dare say that! You have no bloody right to say that. Acting in my boy's best interests would have involved a thorough background check on those blasted muggles, periodic and surprise visits to that mundane neighborhood. If you had done that, you would have seen just how pathetic the conditions at Privet Drive were."