"Oh, he actually did. It seems the two of us are some much needed continuity he needs," Remus commented from where he sat, reading a thick book titled Lord of the Rings. "Since you are back, I guess it's done?"
"Yes, it is done," Sirius said while sitting down, still holding Harry in his arms. Thomas was joining them that moment. "Lots of things happened today. Let me tell you..."
Over the next half an hour Sirius was busy with explaining the day's events, starting from his arrival at the Tonks home and ending with him leaving the Ministry to return home. The others listened attentively. Remus, because he could see the bigger picture, and the Evans couple because they always were happy to get more information about the magical world, besides getting a better picture what was going on in it.
Listening to everything the Evans couple couldn't help but to shake their heads while Sirius was describing the trial, but saved their comments for later. They were also interested when Sirius explained his rather complex family situation, due to the presence of no less than five current and former Blacks in the courtroom. To say that Thomas realized that there were families way more dysfunctional than he'd realized was an understatement. The troubles of Lily and Petunia with their parents looked harmless compared to that.
When Sirius was finally done with his recounting of the day's events, everyone needed some moments to process all this.
"No offense, but your justice system does not sound very functional. The description of that courtroom sounded more like 'bread and circuses', only that instead of gladiators fighting or people being thrown to the lions, they are given to these dementor monsters," Thomas finally said.
"Yes, and one of the accused being the judge's own son would have disqualified the man in a normal court from leading the trial due to being too close to the case. That rule is there to prevent exactly what you described: a revenge-driven judgment despite shaky evidence at best," Veronica added.
"Well, these are some of the many reasons why I took the exit. After watching those guilty as sin getting away with a cheap excuse that they were under mind control, it made me wonder if we had really won this war. If it's so easy to get away scot-free if you have enough money. I bet my last Knut that they'll soon be back to their old tricks." Sirius made no secret how much that angered him.
"You make it sound like Harry should never enter that world," Remus observed.
"Oh, don't get me wrong, it's his heritage and the world is not black and white. There are also many good people there, they just have trouble to be heard. I'm not as arrogant to think that I can make that decision for him. It's solely up to him to make it, once he's old and mature enough to do so," Sirius said, holding Harry close.
"It's still a bit weird to hear such mature statements from you, Padfoot," Remus noted.
If anything, it felt more weird to Sirius himself. "I was forced to mature really fast. Our school days are over; now we have to see how to manage life."
"So, you are done with them now? What do you plan on doing next? I know you are planning on staying close by," Thomas asked.
"Well, for the moment, I'm staying in a rented flat in London. But it's merely a bachelor crash pad, little more than that. I want to be part of Harry's life, and that means living close by. As much as this is - nothing personal - a rather boring neighborhood, Harry's presence alone is worth it," Sirius explained.
Remus knew the flat in question. It consisted of little more than a small bedroom, a cramped bathroom and a kitchen consisting of little more than a fridge and a stove. It was impossible for more than one person to live in it, due to its small size. However, who was he to say such things? After all, his own living arrangements were hardly any better, due to a constant lack of money and being unable to rent in the magical world because of his condition.
"So you are planning on buying a house close by? Isn't that very expensive?" Veronica asked, remembering the price for their own house, which was substantial.
Sirius shook his head. "No, not at all. My Uncle Alphard left me his whole personal fortune. Boy, for that he got disowned post mortem by the family. They couldn't stand the idea that I now was financially independent. Even after buying the house, I would still have enough for the rest of my life."
Taking Harry off Sirius, Veronica wondered how Sirius could have turned out so well despite such a horrible family. "Your family makes me wonder how deep people could sink. Oh, the way you spoke of it, you already seem to have a house in mind."
"Padfoot, I know that smirk," Remus remarked. He'd seen it when ever Sirius was planning to prank someone.
"Oh, I indeed already found a house, there's just some legal red tape to be done. Everything is legal, but Petunia and her husband the walrus won't like their new neighbor in the slightest," he said, starting to chuckle.
Now realizing what this was about, Thomas could see the humor in it. "You mean, a house directly next to theirs was available? Knowing her, she'll be completely horrified to have a wizard as a neighbor."
"It was not even intentional. It just happened that their neighbors were offering their house for sale since they want to move away. I simply saw the sign when scoping out the neighborhood and things got rolling from there. Getting this little revenge on Petunia is just a nice bonus, and I don't have to do anything for it." To Sirius, this was just perfect.