Staring around the room cautiously, Harry looked at everyone as he waited to see if anyone would have any questions for him before his eyes widened and he turned towards Sirius with a small grimace. While he knows no one is going to blame him for forgetting this step in the process in the first place, a rather large part of him is embarrassed for having done so, still attempting to make Sirius proud with everything he does and feeling like this was just a misstep.

"We uh, we need to do the unbreakable vow. I forgot. Do uh - do you think you could help me with the wording of it, Siri?" Harry ends up asking, voice quiet though it doesn't stop everyone from hearing him, since the room was already quiet to begin with, waiting for something to happen and someone to ask a question. As Harry's cheeks turn red while the people still in the room snort or laugh, he focuses only on his godfather, who is looking at him with his own small smile, and patience in his eyes that have calmed Harry down numerous times since he's joined everyone here.

"Luckily for you kiddo, I wrote something down quickly while I could," Sirius responds with a small smirk that has Harry turning red once more before grinning and grabbing the piece of paper his godfather had held out for him, reading through it quickly, then reading through it once more just to be sure. Biting on his lower lip, Harry reads it once more just to be sure before looking towards Sirius and nodding, giving the piece of paper to Hermione, who reads it herself and then nods, approval coursing throughout her body.

"Alright, we're handing out a piece of parchment with the vow written on it. If you're not comfortable doing the vow, or the wording of the vow, to the point you don't want to take the vow, we'll be asking you to leave, so think seriously about it," Sirius responds, winking towards his godson when Harry grins at his godfather, happy that Sirius is the one introducing the vow while he hands out the parchment, which -

"When did you duplicate the parchment?" Harry asks, with a small frown before grinning once more when his godfather chuckles.

"When you weren't looking, pup. The advantages of silent and wandless magic is endless," Sirius says with a small chuckle while Harry opens his mouth in awe before his eyes widen.

"Is that why you brought me up learning some of it earlier this summer?" He asks, leaning forward slightly when some people look towards him in confusion, wondering what conversation Harry is referencing. A few people already know and grin towards the two but otherwise, everyone watches with curiosity while Sirius hums in response.

"It's one of the reasons, yes," Sirius says with a grin before he hands the last parchment to Remus with a small frown. "Alright, you guys have the vow. If you're interested in saying them, awesome, perfect, look towards Harry when you do, and only at one please so he doesn't get overwhelmed. If you're not interested in saying the vow - stand up now and leave or forever hold your peace - literally," Sirius finishes with a shrug while Tonks snorts and Harry smirks.

After a few minutes, Harry's not surprised when Mundungus and Figg stand up and leave, Figg looking at Harry with a guilty smile. While he knew it was going to happen, part of him still hurts that these two people would so obviously take Dumbledore's side, and not even try and -

"Breathe, kiddo," Sirius whispers, his hand squeezing Harry's shoulder as Harry does just that, eyes closing briefly as he tries a few deep breaths to clear his mind. After a few minutes of silence, silence in which Harry knows everyone is waiting for him, he opens his eyes and smiles gratefully at his godfather before looking around.

"No one else is planning on leaving?" He asks, his eyes drifting towards Remus subconsciously, shifting when the family friend arches his eyebrow at Harry, causing the younger man to blush a little while Sirius snorts.

"Don't act surprised, Remus. Harry has every right to think you'd stand up and walk out based on your past history," Sirius responds and Harry knows it's because he's protecting him and something in Harry blossoms at his godfather protecting him, even from his last remaining best friend.

When Remus in turn, looks away guiltily, Harry lets out another breath before looking around the room, surprised that no one else is leaving.

"Alright, I'll guess we'll begin. Uh, go around the circle, to my left?" Harry says and eventually, everyone slowly begins giving their vows, lights encircling them and Harry as the vow is completed before they sit down, having stood up to do their vow in the first place. By the time everything is over, Harry feels emotionally exhausted, like there's a weight on his chest and shoulders that he can't get rid of, but he's not sure what else he would need to do, so instead, he looks towards his godfather, who had helped him with the proceedings.

"Maybe a quick break, get some food and drink into you before we get into the heavy stuff?" Sirius suggests after a few minutes, running fingers through Harry's hair, sensing his godson's exhaustion clearly and not wanting to push him any more than he's already been pushed. Harry thought about it for a few minutes before blinking up at his godfather tiredly.

"I'd rather just get it over and done with now, admittedly. Can we eat and drink while we talk?" Harry asks, voice quiet as Sirius nods and mountains of food and drink appear thanks to….

"When did you hire Dobby?" Harry can't help but blurt out when he sees the house elf, eyes wide while Sirius snorts.

"A little while ago. It's a story for another day. Just know he's very happy to be here, and he's even been helping Kreacher some," Sirius snorts while Harry lets out a small laugh before carefully grabbing some food, watching as everyone else had already started eating without him noticing. After eating quietly for a few minutes, Harry looks around at everyone and takes in a small breath, exhaling when he feels like it's the perfect time to do so before looking towards his godfather for reassurance, grinning when he sees it in Sirius' own smile.

"So, for as long as I can remember, I've been abused by the Dursley's," Harry begins, looking down and away as everyone becomes silent and watching him, wondering what else Harry has to say. He takes another deep breath before continuing, avoiding everyone's eyes.

"And it wasn't just physical abuse - sure, they would slap me around if I didn't do something they liked, or made a mistake, or just - was around, I guess, but a lot of it was emotional and mental, too," Harry begins, biting his lower lip and shifting towards Sirius, trying to figure out how to get his thoughts across properly. Briefly, he feels Hermione take his hand and squeeze, and he squeezes back before allowing Sirius to pull him into his side and wrap his arm around Harry's shoulders as a form of comfort.

"I was cooking for them at an early age. I never knew my name until I was in school, always believing it was boy because that's what they called me. I was never fed properly, and was punished for things out of my control or that I didn't do but Dudley did." Harry starts, but once he does so, he can't stop. He tells everyone about all the ways the Dursley's abused him - how they kept him in a small boot cupboard under the stairs until he received his Hogwarts letter, and even then, how they kept that from him until it was almost too late. How he had bars on his window, locks locking him inside the bedroom he did have, a cat flap for food to be given to him, regulated moments where he could go to the bathroom - the list went on and on, Harry getting lost in all of the moments he didn't like to think about, his body weight slumping deeper and deeper into Sirius' side, needing the comfort of his godfather.

He doesn't see the looks everyone is giving him as he tells about the abuse and neglect he went through, his mind too caught up in revisiting to the past to a point where it takes him a few minutes to realize that not only has he stopped talking - Sirius has enveloped him in a hug that has him hiding in Sirius' chest, tears falling down as he sobs lightly.

"Hey, it's alright, kiddo. I'm here, and you're never going back there again," Sirius whispers to Harry gently and while Harry knows this - has known this since he first told Sirius about everything he went through at his aunt's house, there's still a rather large part of him that finds it so damn hard to believe, that thinks at any moment, he'll be forced to go back to his own form of Azkaban.

Harry doesn't know how long it takes for the sobs to taper off and his eyes to dry, but when he does, he turns, finding himself thankful when he realizes the twins are distracting everyone with their antics so that no one is watching him and making him feel more insecure than he would normally.

Wiping his eyes with the back of his sleeve, Harry looks around the room and takes steadying breaths, smiling when he feels Sirius squeeze his shoulder once more before turning towards his friends and smiling at them.

"Right, so uh, now what?" He chuckles, wiping his eyes once more before taking a sip from his goblet, feeling dehydrated after the crying he had done. Briefly, he notices Ginny looking at him carefully with a small frown, and wonders if her Mom might try and get her to throw the vow away for information, but before he can ponder that thought any further, Sirius tugs on a strand of his hair lightly to get his attention and Harry looks away and towards his godfather. Briefly, he realizes everyone has settled down and is now looking at him and Sirius once more, and he feels a surge of insecurity course through him before he shakes the thoughts away and bites the inside of his cheek, waiting for Sirius to say whatever it is he needs to say.

"Thank you, kiddo, for being brave enough to open up to all of us about the abuse you went through," Sirius begins, smiling softly at his godson before looking around at everyone else sitting at the table with careful eyes, clearly thinking things through. When Sirius lets out a small huff of breath, Harry moves slightly, wondering what's going through his godfather's mind.

"Now that you all know why I want Dumbledore nowhere near my godson -" Sirius begins after a few moments before pausing, a few people waiting before he continues, "Because he clearly knew what was going on and wasn't planning on putting a stop to it, we need to decide what our next steps are," Sirius finishes and Harry looks towards his friends, briefly thinking about Neville and wondering if the other boy should be here too before looking towards his godfather once more.

"There are steps that need to be taken, of course, but you understand-" Sirius begins once more before stopping, humming and hawing for a few minutes while looking around the room, almost as if he's the one whose unsure of how to continue.

"I guess, the first question I have to ask for all of you, is if any of you have any questions for myself or Harry about anything you've heard today?" Sirius asks, looking at Harry briefly while Harry smiles back and nods, knowing that if anything gets too out of hand, his godfather will be right there with him. Briefly, the room is silent before, surprisingly, it's McGonagall that breaks it first.

"Why else don't you trust Albus? Other than him leaving with his Aunt and Uncle when he's been abused?" Sirius paused here, looking at his old professor with curiosity, wondering how much she knew and how much she didn't know.

Briefly looking around the room once more, Sirius finds himself chuckling and shaking his head. "That, Minerva, is a long story that would require the help of those three over there to tell it," he admits, tilting his head towards Harry and his friends, before looking towards them with a small smirk.

"Are you guys willing to help a man tell it?" He asks, his smirk sliding into something more neutral as Harry grins and nods at him.

"Alright, we'll clean up, take a small break, and then come back to talk about why none of us trust Albus Dumbledore," Sirius responds with a small snort while Harry himself lets out a laugh and Ron and Hermione grin in response, not wanting to give anything away but knowing just how much everyone will be surprised.

By the time everything has been cleaned up and put away, twenty minutes have passed and Harry couldn't be more thrilled to have stretched his legs and gotten away from everything in the kitchen, if only so he could breath more easily. When he finally sits back down at the table with a new goblet of pumpkin juice in front of him, he grins towards his godfather and friends, something in him excited over what he's about to tell everyone else, mostly because he'll finally be able to be heard.

"Alright, what is it you need to tell us, ?" Minerva questions and Harry finds himself biting his lower lip as he tries his best not to let out a small laugh, looking towards Ron and the twins with a small smirk.

"So, we think the first form of manipulation came in regards to telling me how to get to Hogwarts in the first place," Harry begins after a few moments of silence, before knowing how to continue, "When I ended up receiving my letters, after the numerous amount already sent, it was Hagrid who had come to see me and had tried to explain things to me. Later, after talking to others, I know it was you, Professor, who had gone to other muggle born witches and wizards, and I never really understood why it wasn't you when it came to me." Harry had started, pausing briefly when he realizes McGonagall's nostrils have flared and she's huffed a little.

"He told me he had gone to see you and to explain everything," she responds after a few moments and Harry can't help but huff out his own breath of frustration while Sirius snorts.

"It's something I suspected, since I know you like to visit the people new to the community yourself," he whispers watching Harry carefully before nodding when Harry begins speaking once more.

"Everything went well but Hagrid forgot - or was instructed to, perhaps - not tell me how to board the train to Hogwarts, so when I was finally at the station, I was looking around without a clue. It wasn't until I heard shouting about muggles and the platform itself that had me following her, to see what was going on," Harry stated slowly, trying to remember back to that day so many years ago. He notices, briefly, the adults frowning, especially when Ron adds that his Mom was acting like they hadn't already known where they were going or what the platform was called.

"Almost like she had been told that Harry would be there, and wouldn't know how to board the train," Tonks whispered with wide eyes, surprised that something that obvious had even happened in the first place. The room is silent as the statement is taken in by everyone - all of the adults in the room who hadn't known surprised at the fact that Harry had boarded the train in that way, and that it ended up being planned, by Dumbledore, no doubt.

"So he made sure not to tell you about how to board the train so that you met our family - but why?" Fred questioned with a small frown and Harry - Harry didn't know how to answer that, especially with Ginny in the room but thankfully, his godfather answered it for him.

"Molly has been trying to dose Harry with love potions. As he's my heir - well, I was made aware of it immediately." Sirius responds, voice soft and apologetic as he looks towards Arthur, who is frowning in clear anger.

"So you think that by having Potter close at hand-"

"She was able to dose him more easily," Tonks and Kingsley say quietly while Sirius nods, squeezing Harry's shoulders briefly, probably understanding that Harry isn't a big fan of the knowledge he's been given in the moment.

"Unfortunately," Sirius adds, blowing out a small huff of air before looking towards Harry, questioning. Harry ends up nodding, letting his godfather know he's okay to continue, and with a soft smile, Harry does.

"Throughout the first year, it wasn't completely obvious that I was being manipulated. Not at least, until the end of the year," Harry begins with a small frown before he, with the help of Ron and Hermione, tells everyone about the philosopher's stone. The trio lay out how they figured out everything, and more importantly, how they realized that each portion the other professor's had set up had suited them almost perfectly, the only difference being the herbology bit, which was clearly something meant for Neville.

While they're telling the story as best as they can, all three of the teens notice the looks of surprise and anger on the faces' of the adults, and try their hardest not to cringe completely. When they're finished though, the room is tense and Harry, looking around briefly, has no idea what to do next, even as it's clear that all of the adults are thinking about what they have just learned.

"That is -" Kingsley begins while Mad-Eye snorts and McGonagall lets out a huff of breath.

"Yeah, you should have seen Sirius when I told him everything," Harry chuckles, feeling awkward when everyone turns to look at him and Sirius lets out a snort.

"Let's just say I was incredibly pissed off at Dumbledore, and had to give Harry plenty of moments of support and encouragement so he knew I wasn't pissed off at him," Sirius responds with a small wink towards Harry, who only groans in light embarrassment.

"Well, Mr. Potter, I would like to apologize for not believing in your first year when you had come to me originally." McGonagall says and Harry - Harry smiles at her and nods before turning towards Sirius, surprised to find his godfather grinning.

"So, what happened in your second year?" Kingsley questions while nearly all of the students let out a small groan and McGonagall cringes. Slowly, the trio begin explaining their second year, stopping more often when Harry has to breath to calm himself down after remembering the way he felt due to his treatment in the year, Sirius rubbing his back, comforting him the best way he knew how.

As he begins talking about the memory he had interrupted, he finds himself surprised to be interrupted by Moody, who is frowning.

"You mean to say that Dumbledore didn't piece together what was happening from fifty years beforehand?" He asks, and Sirius chuckles, tilting his head before Moody ends up swearing in response.

"What?" Ginny asks, not quite understanding the revelation while Hermione frowns.

"Dumbledore knew what was going on the entire time because it had happened fifty years previously, with Voldemort. He just didn't do anything about it because he was trying to test Harry," Tonks responds softly while Harry looks away, anger coursing through him. Who was Dumbledore to think he had the right to play in Harry's life like that, Harry thought, crossing his arms, trying not to feel like a petulant teenager, though by the look the twins give him, he's not doing a very good job at it. After a few moments, the group continues their story, and when they're done with the year, the room is silent once more as they try to think about what they have learned.

"You know, having had basilisk venom inside of you - we may need to contact Bill about that. Could be important," Sirius mutters while Harry frowns, wondering what his godfather means but knowing not to bring it up right this second if only by the way his godfather looks far away.

"That is…. Quite the second year," Arthur whispers, not having known everything about the year and finding himself wanting to pull his kids close, while everyone else only hums in consideration.

"Third year was quite a doozy, too," Sirius snorts and everyone turns towards him, blinking, before some people laugh and others smirk while Harry lets out a small sigh, nudging his godfather playfully.

"While I was in considerably less danger than normal, there was still quite a few manipulations from Dumbledore to consider," Harry started, becoming more serious than some people have seen him before, "Like, not telling me why I was being shoe-horned away from anything fun and why I couldn't go places, or be with friends, etc. If someone had told me from the beginning why, and not just 'someone is out to murder you' but the actual why of it, I would have been more likely to listen and stay where I was meant to be," Harry admits and a few of the adults find themselves acknowledging that very simple fact with a frown, realizing how right the young man was.

"Then there was the fact that Dumbledore relied on us to rescue Sirius, even though he was very well in his limits to help Sirius himself," Hermione adds on with a small whisper while Harry hums in response.

"Yeah, he definitely could have used his mugwump powers," Harry snorts as everyone else nod their heads, wondering briefly why he hadn't.

"As far as I can tell, he hadn't because he knew if I gained custody of Harry - he couldn't continue to let Harry be abused or be put through tests," Sirius adds, arm wrapping around Harry's shoulders as a brief hug is formed.

After a few more minutes of silence, and the adults whispering among themselves, the trio begin to explain their fourth year, and how Dumbledore should have done more to help Harry and not test the younger man in numerous different ways. And even though it was the most recent of years, Harry still finds himself having to stop during the retelling of the last task, hiding in Sirius' side as he finds comfort in his godfather.

Eventually, the trio are done their retelling and the silence, like all of the other times, is thick with tension as the adults voices raise while they talk about everything that's been missed, about everything Dumbledore has done and not done. Harry, tired, looks towards Sirius with a small smile, eyes closing briefly as he lets out a small yawn.

"Tired, pup?" Harry hears Sirius ask and he nods. It's not late, but he's emotionally exhausted and after everything he's had to go over today, he really just wants to get to bed, but he knows that once the order leaves, they won't be back for another few days.

"We'll finish soon, promise. How about some hot coco to keep you awake for now?" Sirius asks and Harry - Harry nods, smiling softly before sitting up, accepting the floating goblet with a grin towards his godfather.

"So, what do we do about Dumbledore's inaction towards Potter, and Severus, and everything else going on in that damn school?" Moody asks, and that - that is the a good question, Harry thinks, sipping from his goblet carefully, wondering about an answer as the room awaits.

Author's Note: Welp, this was... a long time coming, I suppose? I apologize about the wait, but at least y'all know I never abandon my stories, no matter how long it takes, lmao. This is the longest chapter yet, mainly because I'm writing longer chaptered stories in general, so I hope you guys enjoy this one. I'm also tentatively having this story planned at 5-6 chapters, but I'll let you know if that changes. Lastly, you can also find this on AO3, if you prefer reading it there, under the username smartbuckleystrand. I hope you guys enjoy this, and it was worth the wait. Thanks for reading and if you review, thanks for reviewing :)