"My aunt and uncle really messed up this one..." Thomas knew he shouldn't talk ill of the dead, but to think how this caused the rift between the sisters... "Now that we know the background, what exactly happened?"
"I won't go into too much detail for the time being. Over the past decade, the magical society of Britain suffered severely from a massive terrorist campaign. The goal of these fanatics was to topple the government and codify their belief of magical superiority into law. To them, people with no magic or magicals with a non-magical background have no right to live, perhaps apart from being slaves to service them," Dumbledore explained, knowing he couldn't sugarcoat it.
Thomas and Veronica remembered pictures from their history lessons ins school, showing Nazi extermination camps. The horrible word 'Untermenschen' also came to mind. "Ah, and I guess to these people collateral damage is something to be proud of, right?"
"It had been ten horrible years," Sirius admitted. "Everyone lost someone they knew, many innocents, magical or non-magical, were brutally murdered and a feeling of gloom had gripped everyone. That left wounds difficult to heal."
"Yes, it was a dire situation." Dumbledore didn't want to show how much these years had eaten at his substance. "And this is where to Potters come into it. I will give the details at a later date, but important is, that the leader of the fanatics, Lord Voldemort, came to see young Harry Potter as a threat."
"A toddler a threat? The man must have been quite irrational," Thomas said, noticing how Remus and McGonagall didn't react well to hearing that man's name.
"Irrational or not, it forced the Potters into hiding. Sadly, days ago one of their friends turned traitor and reported the safe house to Voldemort. Subsequently, Voldemort personally murdered James and Lily Potter and then attempted to do the same to young Harry."
Dumbledore tried to not show his own grief, while he continued. "Right at the moment the best I can make is an educated guess. For some reason, Voldemort's spell got reflected back onto him and it caused an explosion, destroying part of the house. It will take time for me to find out what kind of miracle saved Harry from a spell that has a 100% fatality rate on impact."
It was a grim tale, but it did rise a question. "I guess this now connects to why you are actually visiting us?" Veronica asked them.
"Yes, it is." Sirius prepared himself for what now would come. "You see, I'm Harry's godfather, and normally it now would be my sole responsibility to take care of him. However, circumstances arose that make the situation quite complicated. Voldemort might be gone, at least for now, but even though his organization is starting to fall apart, there are many of them ready to harm Harry out of sheer spite. Also, considering the sheer fame Harry will soon gain, he can't grow up in the magical world, or it will go to his head."
"Due to these factors, I intended to invoke ancient magic that would make it impossible for Harry's enemies to come within ten kilometers of the house that Harry calls his home," Dumbledore explained, but then looked uncomfortable. "However, a blood relative is needed for it to work, and my first thought was Petunia."
"What were you thinking?!" Thomas gasped, then realized why these people have come to them specifically. "You mean...?"
"The only alternative left would be your parents... If they are willing and capable," Remus added, not knowing the status of Thomas Evans' parents.
Thomas shook his head. "There is no way. Dad had been in a serious accident last year, lost a leg and went into early retirement. Mum now is already busy enough with his care. No way they can take care of him."
Veronica looked a little intimidated. "Thomas and me, we were talking about starting a family, but this comes all of a sudden."
Thomas took her hand. "We... we need to talk about this in private. Please excuse us for a moment."
Watching them walk up the stairs, Sirius sighed. "I hope they accept. They strike me as good people. They'll certainly not be alone with the job."
"Sirius?" McGonagall asked.
Sirius shook his head. "I won't leave them to carry this responsibility on their own, if they accept. I want Harry to grow up having his Uncle Sirius around. That decision becomes easier for me by the minute. My disillusionment with the magical world is already big enough."
Everyone knew what Sirius meant, but Remus in particular.
Growing up in the highly conservative, reactionary and obsessed with blood-purity Black family had already jaded Sirius, who despite his upbringing didn't like what the Blacks stood for. That his parents had - to put it mildly - not been nice people who felt nothing wrong with physically punishing him added to it. No wonder he left his family. After school was done, the war had soured him further on the magical world and the murder of two of his friends certainly wasn't helping, either.
"You know, Padfoot, I will stand by you, regardless what you decide. I honestly wouldn't fault you for making a hard cut," Remus told his friend.
That also was pretty obvious. As a werewolf, Remus had been subjected to pretty harsh racism - especially after leaving Hogwarts. His stellar academical merits meant nothing as soon as people learned of his medical problem. While Remus tried not to let it get to him, a certain frustration and cynicism had set in. No, he had only little hope finding a spot in the magical world; he would have better luck outside of it - after all he had already started working on it.
"You are an adult man and can make your own decisions." Dumbledore said absentmindedly. "We certainly can't dictate what you should do."