Chapter 7: The-Boy-Who-Realized
"Mistress Longbottom be at Janus Thickey Ward of St. Mungos and Sirius Black…" Norton bit out with a growl and Harry couldn't help but raise his brows at that. "Has been sent to Azkaban for killing Peter Pettigrew along with twelve Muggles! He is also responsible for betraying the Potters, Master Hadrian!" Norton spat out in disgust.
"How did he betray the Potters?" Harry asked heatedly. According to his mom, Sirius Black was his Godfather, he really wanted to know how the man betrayed his parents, but something wasn't right…
Sirius Black was sent to prison for killing Peter Pettigrew and twelve Muggles, but according to his mom, Peter Pettigrew was their Secret Keeper. Even if Sirius was being punished for killing the Muggles, nobody should be saying that Sirius Black betrayed his parents, right? Harry felt like something else was going on here… It was a nagging feeling at the back of his mind.
"When Master James and Mistress Lily went to hide, they used old Magic… Norton does not know what they did, but Norton could no longer find them. Norton found that only Sirius Black knew where they were and he revealed their location to You-Know-Who" Norton whispered angrily.
Harry frowned after hearing Norton's words… Yes, he was right. Something was wrong. According to his mom, they made Peter Pettigrew their secret keeper while they told everyone that Sirius Black was their Secret Keeper. Then how come everyone still believed that Sirius Black was the one who betrayed his parents? Was the truth never revealed? But how? If Sirius Black was sent to prison, then they must have put him on a trial, right?
Harry quickly shook his head to clear his mind… Even though he felt bad for the man, he never knew him personally. Yes, if Sirius Black was free then he may not have been sent to the Dursleys, but he couldn't keep thinking about ifs…
"You-Know-Who?" Harry asked, looking really confused as he inclined his head.
Norton started to fiddle with his hands. "He is the bad man you defeated" Norton revealed and once again, Harry was confused.
"I didn't defeat anyone… Are you talking about Voldemort?" Harry asked as a look of realization dawned on his face as soon as Norton heard the name he shrieked in fear.
"Master Hadrian, you must not say his name!!" Norton exclaimed in fear, but Harry simply shrugged.
"It's only a name… If you fear his name, then you are simply giving him power" Harry said with a shrug. To be honest, Harry didn't have all the information so it wasn't right of him to make assumptions, but he believed that they shouldn't be afraid of a simple name.
Norton simply gave Harry a look before nodding his head. "Master Hadrian is right… Norton shouldn't fear a name when Master Hadrian defeated the bad man when he was just a baby" Norton said while nodding his head and after hearing his words Harry wanted nothing more than bang his head on the wall.
It was already uncomfortable for him, with Norton always calling him Master Hadrian, and if by any chance Norton started to worship him, then it would simply become unbearable for him… He was barely able to wrap his head around the fact that he cannot treat Norton with human morals.
Harry also knew for a fact that it wasn't him who defeated Voldemort… It was his mom who was responsible for the man's defeat, but there was no way Harry could tell Norton about his mom… From his mom, Harry knew that house elves are extremely loyal creatures, but he simply didn't know how to explain his mother's survival to the overly excited creature.
"Norton, I don't remember what happened that night… I was only a baby, so I don't know if it was me who defeated him" Harry tried to explain, but Norton started to shake his head in denial.
"It was Master Hadrian who defeated the bad man. Norton knows! Everyone knows that it was Master Hadrian who defeated the bad man!" Norton said while nodding his head like a sage.
"Everyone?" Harry squeaked out, looking extremely uncomfortable.
"Oh yes, Master Hadrian! They call you the Boy-Who-Lived for surviving the nastiest Curse out there" Norton explained dramatically and Harry almost started to choke when he heard his hyphenated Title… "Don't you remember the stories of your adventures, Master Hadrian? Why didn't Master Hadrian call Norton before when he went adventuring? Did Norton do something bad?" Norton asked meekly, tears started pooling in his eyes.
'...What? What of what?' Harry eloquently asked himself… "What adventures are you talking about Norton, I never left the Dursleys" Harry explained weakly. The pressure was getting too much… He simply wanted to run away and hide, but he didn't want to disappoint his mother.
Norton inclined his head after hearing Harry's words with a confused look on his face. "Then what about the books? There are books about your adventures… Master Hadrian be saving Princesses and riding Dragons to sunsets!! Norton cheerfully exclaimed while nodding his head in excitement.
Harry simply ended up palming his face… "Stop Norton! I never did any of that. I never saved a Princess and I know for sure that I never rode a Dragon into sunset… I am just Harry, you know, trying to find his place in the world" Harry said sullenly as he plopped down on the couch.
Norton looked completely horrified at the prospect of someone lying about his Master, and he was the reason why his Master was feeling so depressed… Norton did not know what to do and he was also afraid that might worsen the situation, so he decided to remain silent for the time being, but he started to fiddle with his fingers in nervousness while hoping that his Master wasn't angry at him.
After a few minutes of silence, Harry was finally able to regain his bearings… He knew that didn't want to disappoint his mom. In fact, he wanted to make her proud… At first, when his mom told him that she died to protect him, he didn't know what to say… After all, he wasn't anything special, she shouldn't have died for him, but his mom was quick to dissuade him from that notion.
'Hadrian, you are the most precious thing to me… You do know how special you are. If I have to die again to protect you, then I will do so with a smile on my face' Those were his mother's exact words. Harry's heart swelled in delight as he remembered her words. His mother believed that he was special… Someone worth dying for.
That is why Harry refused to disappoint his mom. He wanted to prove to her that she didn't die for nothing…
Harry realized that they have strayed too far from the original topic… "What is Janus Thickey Ward?" Harry asked Norton as he removed his hands from his face.
"Master Hadrian, Janus Thickey Ward is a place where patients with permanent Spell damage are kept and treated" Norton explained uneasily.
"What happened to Alice Longbottom?" Harry asked curiously. He wanted to know what happened to his Godmother. His Godfather was in prison, but something was really dodgy with his Godfather's case, so he wanted to know why his Godmother never came to save him.
"After the bad man was killed…" Norton said nervously as he glanced at Harry. "Some of his minions went to look for the bad man. They used a nasty Curse on Mistress Longbottom which made her lose her mind" Norton explained in a whisper and Harry couldn't help but feel horrified.
Harry did not know what to say or how to react… Now he was feeling bad for being angry at the woman. For a few more minutes, Harry was unable to say anything and he simply played around with all the information in his mind. There were a few more people his mom wanted him to look for with the help of Norton, but they could wait.
"Norton, we will need to leave this house" All of a sudden Harry spoke up, surprising Norton who almost went catatonic after hearing his words. Either Harry didn't see Norton's reaction or he simply decided to ignore it, but he decided to carry on with his explanation. "It was Albus Dumbeldore who left me at the tender care of Dursleys" Harry spat out with a bit of venom in his venom.
"As soon as he realizes that I am no longer at the Dursleys, he will start looking for me… I do not know why, but for whatever reason, he wants me to live with the Dursleys" Harry continued to explain with a blank look on his face. "Norton, I have removed him from the Book of Guests, but I don't think that will stop him if he really wants to enter the manor" Harry explained and Norton nodded his head in understanding.
"Norton, I don't want to go back to that place" Harry pleaded desperately, and even Norton started to cry after he saw the pained look on Harry's face.
After a whole minute, Norton was finally able to calm down. He wiped his eyes with a snap of his fingers. "But where will we go, Master Hadrian?" Norton asked with a sniff. Since he was born, Norton has been bound to Potter manor and now he was planning to leave the manor… He was feeling like someone gutted him, but if it was to protect Master Hadrian, then he wouldn't mind abandoning the manor.
He had already failed Master Hadrian once… He didn't want to fail him again…
"You don't have to worry about that, Norton. I already have a place in my mind" Harry revealed with a small grin. "Now, let's start packing!" Harry said while cracking his fingers as he slowly stood up from the couch…
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